Curveball?

[Walkingdragon]

So I've seen that BP's love throwing owners curveballs with their behaviors. So I'm wondering if mine is throwing me a curveball. What happened is, I put a hide on the cool side for about 2 weeks now and he'll stay in there almost all the time. I have a heating pad under the other one with a heating lamp (for whenever the tank temp drops too far) and when I pick him up from the cool hide he's ice cold, he rarely goes to the hot side and sometimes it worries me. The average tank temp is 80-85°F and humidity bounces between 60-75%.

[Eric Alan]

Do you own an IR temperature gun? If so, what is the temperature of the floor of the enclosure right above the heating pad (not on the substrate - right on the bare surface itself)? If you don't own a temp gun, does it feel warm to the touch? Do you also have a hide on the warm side?

[Walkingdragon]

Yes, I have a house on the warm and cool side and on the warm side it feels around 80-90°F.

[Eric Alan]

Yes, I have a house on the warm and cool side and on the warm side it feels around 80-90°F.

The floor feels or is around 80-90°? There's a big difference. A reliable thermometer an important tool.

[Walkingdragon]

I don't have a way to properly gauge the heating pad besides my own hands, it isn't hot enough to burn my BP, he hides there occasionally and usually will sit in there hours on end but lately he's been preferring to be cold in the cool hide.

[Eric Alan]

Honestly, you'd be surprised what the temperature feels like that would cause a burn to your BP - it doesn't really feel warm to us at all. Hands are a pretty poor indicator of the temp range these guys need. A heat pad plugged into the wall without a way to control it can easily reach unsafe temperatures in a short amount of time. If he's completely avoiding the hot side, I'd venture to guess there's a reason why.

You should probably spend a few bucks on an infrared thermometer (a good one can be bought at a local pet store or online for less than $30) so you can be sure of your husbandry.

[Walkingdragon]

Alright, thanks.

[anicatgirl]

Yup. What Eric said. It might not feel hot to you, but I used my temp gun on my bare hands one day and the palm surface was 99 degrees after touching my heat pad!

[Albert Clark]

I don't have a way to properly gauge the heating pad besides my own hands, it isn't hot enough to burn my BP, he hides there occasionally and usually will sit in there hours on end but lately he's been preferring to be cold in the cool hide.

If you don't have a way to properly gauge the heating pad how can you know if it's not hot enough to burn the snake? Sounds like a oxymoron to me. Bro, you need a thermostat right away before tragedy strikes your bp. It most definitely is too hot if the snake is not going there. If he does decide to go there (to the hot side) it will be a burn injury waiting to happen. Be careful and buy a thermostat for the heating pad and a ir gun to monitor your snakes enclosure. It really is a required two pieces of equipment. GL.