Newbie & uncertain about my temperatures/husbandry

[Craiga 01453]

Hello! Welcome to the forum and the wonderful world of snake keeping!!

There are a few things I picked out which are a bit off.

First, the thermostat probe goes OUTSIDE the enclosure. It should be sandwiched between the UTH and the glass.
Keeping it inside it will be moved (probably eventually, even silicone in place), laid on, peed on, etc...which will all give inaccurate readings. Those inaccurate readings could potentially cause very dangerous heat spikes which could burn or even kill a snake.

Second, UTHs are designed solely to provide a hot spot and not for ambient temps. So that side one is as good as useless.

Third, substrate shouldn't matter when reading your surface temps. You should be reading the actual glass surface, not the substrate. Snakes can and will burrow, push substrate around, etc... and reach the glass. So it's important to measure the actual surface temps with a temp gun.

65-70 Is way too cool for a BP. 75 should be the absolute minimum. But low 80s is preferred.

As for substrate, personally don't like aspen. It d7esnt hold humidity well at all. I use a blend of eco earth and repti-bark. It holds humidity well, absorbs odor and looks naturalistic.

Lastly, hoppers are too small for your BP. They eat hoppers right out of the egg for their first few meals only, typically 3-5 meals, and quickly move up to small adult mice.