Quote Originally Posted by Regius_049 View Post
Your setup is not ideal, but probably OK. Personally I think 85 for the cool side is probably a touch high, but unlikely to cause any real issues. If possible, I would reduce the bulb wattage so it is closer to 80. Typically when animals are kept warmer, but not too warm, they are more active and have higher metabolic rates (as you may already be observing). Also, optimally, you would have a hide on the cool side as well. I suspect that you already know this however, but ran out of space in the 10 gallon. With such space limitations, your setup is best. If a snake feels insecure, they are prone to "wall surfing" and not eating, but if your snake is not doing this, you are good.

My larger concern is in a 10 gallon tank with a heat bulb, what is the humidity in the enclosure?
Thanks for the quick reply! Yeah, we knew it wasn't ideal and it did come down to space...I may try to cram a 2nd hide in under the lamp anyway. It's a CHU bulb (which I know can crank out some heat) regulated by a Herpstat 2 so I can definitely drop its temp a few degrees.

As for humidity, it's a screened lid so I expected to have trouble with that, but we've actually done ok keeping it between 50-60%, and I even saw it go up to 70% one day. I live in GA, so I don't know if our high ambient humidity helps with that at all.