Thread: Heatmats
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Old 08-13-2019, 06:37 PM   #2
Karl_Mcknight
some of those heat mats can hit 140 degrees. Have you ever measured the temp of one? What will happen if your snake(s) come into contact with it?

All heat sources should have thermostats. I have a thermostat on my heater at home.

The ideal temp for a corn snake is room temp on one end (70 to 75 degrees) and 82 to 88 on the other end (85 middle of the range is what I keep mine at). If you don't have a thermostat, how do you accomplish this?

Now I will say this, many years ago, (like 35 to 40 years ago) I had Boa Constrictors, which like 91 degree heat. I, like you, had heat pads but no thermostats. I'm not even sure if reptile thermostats were around back then. But I laid a thermometer on the glass bottom of the cage directly over the heat pad one day just to see how hot it got and was surprised to see 137 degrees. Realizing this was bad for a snake, I started placing folded newspaper on top of it, and then measuring again. I ended up with about 1 inch of newspaper to dissipate the 137 degree heat to a safe 91 degrees, and for many many years, that's what I did, and the snakes were fine.

I do use a thermostat today. It's just much safer, easier and no need for all that newspaper.