Burn point...

[bearhart]

At what temperature do you risk contact burns? Somebody posted 105 but that can't be right.

[tmlowe5704]

Any reason why that can't be right?

[bearhart]

Because it can get to 105 degrees ambient temperature on a hot day. A human with a bad illness can almost get up there.

In general animal "flesh" does not die at 105. Certainly body temperates at that level can kill but it doesn't tend to produce contact burns. I would say, at least for people, that contact burns prolly start at 120 or so.

[addsdad]

these aren't people you are dealing with. I don't let my hot spot get higher than 95 and my ambient higher than 85. Have had no problems.

[bearhart]

yea I know they aren't people but all creatures are made from the same basic stuff, use the same basic chemistry, and are designed to live in roughly the same environment (give or take a few degrees depending on location).

I've had issues with my warm side getting up to 105 but no sign of burns - he just has to come out to cool off periodically. I kind of like that he has to thermoregulate because then I'm sure he can get as hot as he wants. But, I think 105 is too high and i've been adjusting it downwards. That just got me curious if it was known at what point snakes started to get burns.

[sweety314]

If there is a problem with security or temp, a snake will burn itself. It doesn't move. The nerves in the scutes or along the snake send the signal, but by the time the brain gets the message, the snake is severely burned.


Your snake will thermoregulate just fine, if you provide ambient warmth of 82-84* and the hot spot is 92-94*, controlled w/a t-stat or rheostat w/o any serious threat of injury to your pet.

[bearhart]

Yea getting there. I don't quite have that good a setup just yet. Right now I have an always-on UTH that seems to put out a constant 105. I adjust the temp by the thickness of the substrate.

I've heard that they can't feel contact temps very well but he's been in contact with the glass several times and no sign of injury.

[harfieldthethirsty]

I lost a great male to a burn with the same teps 105 in the hide,and the same setup you are talking about. Keep a close eye on him. Just had to let you know so Reggie didnt die in vein.

[bearhart]

can you be more specific on what happened? How did you know it was temp that did it?

[jhall1468]

Yea getting there. I don't quite have that good a setup just yet. Right now I have an always-on UTH that seems to put out a constant 105. I adjust the temp by the thickness of the substrate.

I've heard that they can't feel contact temps very well but he's been in contact with the glass several times and no sign of injury.

First to clear up a few misconceptions.

When you take your temperature you are taking an oral temperature. Human beings have sweat glands that reduce our core temperature, so an external (aka, oral) temp is going to be higher than our bodies core temperature. If our core temperature reaches 105 degrees, we run a very serious risk of heatstroke. A core temperature of 110 is fatal for human beings.

Now, knowing that, snakes don't have a way of internally regulating their temperatures. They have to rely on external forces to control internal temperatures. A belly heat of 105, is going to quickly increase the core temperature of a snake to 105 degrees, which is very much fatal.

So PLEASE don't compare a snake to a human. We have one of the most complicated internal heat regulation systems of almost any mammal. Get a Thermostat and get those temps down pronto.

And as for the contact temps, snakes aren't thermostats. While they can recognize the difference between a colder and hotter side, they won't recognize that 105 degrees is too hot. They will simply see that one side is warmer than the other, and they want to be warm.