First snake and I'm scared.

[Alby1]

I have several Cal Kings and they're great little snakes.

I would ditch the light, leave the thermostat for the UTH set so the hot spot is 88*F, and put a hide over the UTH as well as on the cool side. You'll find they like room temperature, unless your house ambient is around 60*F. I use aspen as substrate as they like to burrow.

Unlike a BP these guys don't need to be super humid to have good sheds. I mist mine lightly each evening.

It's all too easy to overfeed a Cal King. Its body shape should be more square than round. If it's round it's fat.

Thanks for all the great information and support, guys.

One of my other concerns is that the UTH heater (now that it's been on for days) is too hot for the snake because (just like you say)if she burrows that thing will probably burn her. It's uncomfortably hot to the back of my hand (when touching the glass directly, of course). So do you suggest just putting the thermometer right on top of the substrate and monitor its temperature there? Are snakes 'smart' enough to realize that they're being burned and move off the UTH if she does burrow there?