As a newb, I guess I was concerned that just as the animal may choose to burn itself on a hot surface, it might also choose to let itself remain in overly cold spots.
Here's a pic after I made 2 improvements: a lot of substance on the hot side to radiate/hold temps, and cardboard on the top.Though even in this case the suggestions I made above would improve efficiency of the heating element(s) and even out the heat of the tank rather than allowing it to bounce up and down so much.
Regarding substrate, I'm torn because it seems like there's no agreement on what is safe to use. Aspen seems to be the leader, but there's still debate. Thus for now I guess I'll stick with this setup even though the temps are a little lower than I'd like.
(BTW clay pots are very hard to cut, not worth the cost savings
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