Burrowing....Heating?

My snake, which I just got yesterday (yay), is burrowing in the warm side of my tank and totally avoiding the cool side. It's an undertank heat pad ('Heat Wave' by Exo-Terra). At the moment, it shows that it's 75-79ish an inch above the substrate, which is about half an inch to an inch thick in that area. It's 'Forest Bark', by Exo-Terra. I was concerned about burning, so I put a few paper towels underneath that to hopefully keep the heat from concentrating. I also have a temporary hideybox in there(A folded sheet of paper).

Is he just getting used to the tank, or is he going to keep burrowing? He may have gotten a little chilled when we were moving him, and the heat pad is probably still heating up. Should he stop burrowing soon? I was quite generous with the substrate, so should I take some out?

If you can measure the temp at the point that your snake can nearest to it. I use a reostat and keep it slightly below 90 degrees, so that it can't burn it self, but can still get warm when it wants to.

Congrats ony our new corn

Cornsnakes seem to like burrowing in the substrate...It is a perfectly normal thing for them to do...I guess it's because it gives them a better sense of security when they are under all the substrate...

Since you just got your corn I would say that he/she is burrowing for a little privacy while they adjust to their new surroundings, which may take some time(1-3 weeks)...

The temps that you have on the surface of the substrate are within the suitable temperature range for corns...For the saftey of your new corn, you should check the temps on the inside floor of the vivarium,right where the heat pad is...Check them several times a day until you see how the heat pad works...Some heat pads have been known to reach temperatures in excess of 100 deg...The temps should not go over 90 deg....This can seriously harm your corn...A cheap way to control the temp on your heat pads is by placing a dimmer switch, available at your local hardware store, in the cord between the heat pad and the plug...The dimmer switch allows you to regulate the heat...***Do not attempt this unless you know what you are doing***

HTH,

Yep, I checked under the substate, and it was getting over 100, so I turned it off and got a heat lamp. They're letting me return it, even though it'll be ruined when we rip it off the bottom of the tank. Nice enough people there... The heat lamp is keeping it perfect, at 84. We got a nocturnal heat lamp so it doesn't bug him at night. 75W is about right, right?

I have to get him another cocohut, since he refuses to go in his converted coffee cup. Ah well, piccies coming soon. I don't want to annoy him too much right now.