Not staying on the warm side?

[Ivyna J Spyder]

My BP is a great eater and gobbles down F/T mice like there's no tomorrow. He seems to constantly be hungry- I suspect because his body is trying to 'catch up' since his last owners didn't seem to feed him often enough so he's undersized.

But I notice he rarely stays on the warm side of the tank for more than maybe a single night after eating- then it's right over to the cool side

The warm side is heated with a UTH, controlled by a Herpstat to be around 93. The actual surface temps above the bedding is more like 90-92. There's also a red bulb overhead because the UTH can't keep it warm enough on its own. I test the temps with both an Accurite probe and a temperature gun. The temps never go over 94 judging from the 'memory' function on the probes. The cool side is around 80.

So should I lower the temps on the warm side perhaps? Is he going to be able to digest right only being on the warm side for such a short time? I mean he's always done it in the months I've had him so I guess he knows what he needs to do... It just bothers me.

[Mochelem]

Are the hides on both sides of the enclosure identical? If they are I wouldnt worry about it. The snake will maintain its body temp....

[Ivyna J Spyder]

Exactly the same model of cave.

[python.princess]

a little off topic- If your UTH won't generate enough heat, you may want to get a better one. having the heat lamps on will only dry it out and give you humidity problems.

As far as him prefering the cool side, he knows what he's doing. I wouldn't worry about it too much

[Ivyna J Spyder]

Oh, the UTH can get plenty warm an inch or two above the substrate- but it can't keep the cool side warm enough or the ambient temps up, so that's where the lamp comes in. The humidity's fine as long as I mist once a day or so- he's already had a perfect shed as testament to that.


And yeah I probably shouldn't worry, it just struck me as really odd since a few hours of basking doesn't seem like nearly enough time to digest a big mouse or two.