Quote Originally Posted by audioclass View Post
I'd also like to note that some of the really cheap temp guns are exactly that....CHEAP. I bought one at walmart and one day it would read 82F and the next it would read mid 90s while my accurite held steady, which is fine if you are using it to measure stuff under the hood of your car, but not so great when you are trying to match stuff to within a degree. I bought a nice Fluke 62 temp gun and have had MUCH more consistent readings, usually within .5deg of what my thermostat is set to with my RHP (UTHs are a different story, since the temperature changes through the surface they are heating). This comes at a price of course, $50+ vs $10-15. For me though, a little more money is an easy trade for safer husbandry.

In addition to the gun you have, which seems to be measuring a "normal" gradient across the surface, put your hand on the surface. If it feels more than just slightly warm it is too hot, and if it feels hot anywhere, its WAY too hot.

If you know you can rely on your temp gun, simply experiment with different settings on your thermostat until the surface(with a UTH) of your enclosure holds steady at the right temps. If you measure the substrate it might be too hot when your snake pushes all the substrate around.
When I touch the substrate under the hide it feels only slightly warmer than the rest of the substrate. Not hot or really that warm to me.