Welcome aboard! : I hope you find all your answers here.


I agree that fuzzy mice are way too small for a 6 month old BP. An adult mouse should be fine. Just wait until your next scheduled feeding day and give it a try.

Cardboard between the UTH and the bottom of the enclosure is not the way to keep your snake from being burned. As you've already noted, all that does it make it impossible to achieve and control the proper temps. What you need to do is attach the UTH to the glass...and then plug it into a thermostat, or at the very least a rheostat (dimmer switch).

A t-stat is a far better method of controlling the temps, because it will adjust the mat's heat to compensate for fluctuations in the room temperatures. If you use a dimmer switch, you have to be aware of those fluctuations yourself and make all the adjustments by hand.

Johnson Controls and Rancos are both excellent and affordable t-stats that can be ordered online and shipped out to you within a couple of days. Try Reptile Basics or any number of other online suppliers. The t-stats you usually find in pet stores are not reliable.

Hope this helps some!!