Repti-therm UTH not getting very hot.

[SDA]

I disagree about a snake burning itself while sitting on a 105F heat source.

Remember ball pythons have a tendency like other snakes such as GTPs to sacrifice thermoregulation for security. An unregulated hot spot can and will cause burns or physical skin damage given a long enough time even at lower temperatures. 105 is not necessarily 105 inside a hide and with a snake on it. A feed back loop for lack of a better term can occur if a snake coils on top of a hot spot inside a hide and that 105 temp can reach a higher spot in contact with the snake of even 5 or more degrees higher. This is enough to cause thermal burns on skin and scale given a long enough time line. So yes, 105 is enough given a long enough length of time to cause physical damage to a snake.

I am not talking generalizations for all reptiles as some have evolutionary adaptations to compensate for hot surface temperatures but just about any living flesh can and will suffer surface burning given a long enough time line on lower temps. The kind of long enough time line that certain snakes have a tendency to do if they are timid and crave the safety of say a hide. Let's also not forget that we tend to use thermostats and thermometers that are not scientifically accurate and when using an on/off thermostat like a jumpstart, that setting for 105 can actually heat to 110 before it cools enough to start he on/off cycle again.


So what I am getting at is regulate your heat sources because you snake can and will get damaged even at temps you assume can't harm them.