What do you think?

[the I-Many]

Hola fellow animal lovers. So here's Bernadette's tank. I'm trying to get a good handle on her conditions, I'm using an analog dial usually reads between 80 - 90 degrees next to her warm hide. Humidity at times will drop to 40 which I will promptly add some moisture bumping it up where it will hover around 60 sometimes 70 and gradually come down. From my observations I'd say majority of the time were looking at it in the 50-60 mark. Never see her in her cold hide, always on the warm. She had a excellent shed a couple weeks ago. All came off in one piece within an hour or do. I've only got a lamp. 75 watt. I stopped using it during the summer/fall months seeing as I'd catch it at 100 so I switched to my 60 watt backup. Don't have a tstat. Don't hate me. Just pricey, people. I work at Ralph's -__- so I guess I'm just looking for some opinions hopefully a little reassurance. By all means be honest, but please be gentle (sensitive guy here).

[thejennabird]

Here are my honest thoughts: Are you using a tank? If so, try following these instructions to achieve a solid set-up for your BP. (Hint: Covering the lid of your tank with tin foil will really help lock in humidity and heat!) You don't mention your substrate, but cypress and cocohusk tend to hold humidity the best.

Your analog thermometer is not reading the hot spot, only the air around the hot spot. The actual hot spot itself (ie. the surface where your BP's skin is touching) may be much hotter! Do you know the actual temperature of the surface where your BP is sitting? If not, try a cheap digital thermometer or inexpensive infrared thermometer to get a better idea of what temps your snake is experiencing.

Once you get that accurate thermometer, you'll probably realize the need for a thermostat. What's keeping your UTH from getting too hot? Right now, nothing! It could be 115 on the surface of your tank and you wouldn't know. A good thermostat is only $35... you can afford a one-time payment of $35, right?

A heat lamp can be controlled by a lamp dimmer (easy to pick up at a hardware store), which will help you adjust it year-round. Just turn it up or down as needed to keep the lamp at the right temperature.

Good husbandry doesn't have to be expensive and is worth the money. Personally it doesn't matter if you work at Ralph's or are a student, you can and should invest a simple $50 for a thermostat and reliable thermometer. Consider it a holiday gift to your snake!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

You want re-assurance get a T-Stat and a digital thermometer (analog are not reliable and you are not getting an accurate reading) and get a UTH it is far more efficient than lights since heat travels up and you will get less heat loss that way.

Providing proper husbandry 24/7 is important and for that you need the right equipment that is the only way to get peace of mind.

If you keep the equipment you have you will have to adjust constantly and will always wonder especially when gone for the day.

It's Christmas soon tell people that this year you want some reptile supply.

[PitOnTheProwl]

If you are not using any type of UTH then a thermostat isnt that huge of a deal.
Personally I would trash the analogs and go digital. A no contact is even better. Home Depot had some for arounf the $25 mark.
You are keeping the lamp on all the time?
You can also make a humid hide for her too.

[thejennabird]

Good points above, I overlooked the fact you don't have a UTH. In which case yeah, just use a lamp dimmer to adjust your heat lamp as needed.

Also, it's possible your snake never goes to the cold side because it's the wrong temperature. How do you know what your cold side temps are? (Could be too cold!)

[Mr. Misha]

I just wanted to chime in on the importance of thermometers that read accurate temperatures.

The analog stick-on circles are not very accurate. Additionally, they're usually put high up in the tank. Remember that your snake spends it's time on the ground. So unless you have something reading the temperature on the ground level, you really don't know how warm or cold the tank really is.

Check these thermometers out. They're from Reptile Basics and read both temperature and humidity. If you get two of those, you can place one at the warm part of the terrarium and one at the cold. They're also decently priced.
http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermometers/TH-100/

[the I-Many]

i'd agree a digital thermometer has been on my to do list for a little while. so i've got another question maybe this should be in another thread but i'll ask here anyways. my kingsnake shed a couple days ago so i havent handled him very much. just checked him and and his eyes and scales look really pretty. but i'm hearing a clicking sound.... i checked his nostrils and they look impacted almost. i don't know if it's substrate (aspen), stuck shed, or early stages of RI. what do you think? no bubbles or wheezing from what i can see.

[DVirginiana]

my kingsnake shed a couple days ago so i havent handled him very much. just checked him and and his eyes and scales look really pretty. but i'm hearing a clicking sound.... i checked his nostrils and they look impacted almost. i don't know if it's substrate (aspen), stuck shed, or early stages of RI. what do you think? no bubbles or wheezing from what i can see.

If you don't see mucous or wheezing I would say it probably isn't RI. What sort of substrate do you use? If it's something with a tendency to get dusty, it could have gotten into the nostrils when he was rubbing against things to shed.

[the I-Many]

He's on aspen.