Quote Originally Posted by redshepherd View Post
A thermostat isn't a thermometer. It regulates the heat pad from getting above a temperature you set. You plug the heat pad into the thermostat.

Heat pads can be mid-90's or mid-100's if it's not plugged into a thermostat, which is hot enough to burn a snake.

There's herpstat (google it) which is the best in the hobby. If you are on a serious budget, there's hydrofarm thermostats on amazon. They can get pretty inaccurate in the long run, but it's better than nothing.
The heating pad underneath one of the hides is literally barely warm, right now i'm getting only 87.5 reading there with my reptile thermometer. When I first purchased the heating pad, I actually went to return it because I figured it was defective because of the unimpressive amount of heat it produces, but turns out that's how it was supposed to work. My snake spends a lot of time under there and his skin looks super healthy. He has a 2nd hide with no heating underneath and he spends time there as well. Is there still cause for concern? And if so, how likely is it the reason he's not eating?