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Temp Issue

H

HypoMotley1

New member
I know some of you measure temp on the glass and others on top of the bedding, but I am having an issue with my temps. I have added reptile carpet to the side with the UTH. When I get the temp on the carpet to 85, the top of the bedding gets around 75. When I get the temp on top of the bedding to 85, the temp on the carpet is around 93. I have about 2 inches of aspen. What should I do?

Thanks for your help!
 
Is there a reason why you've chosen to use carpet and aspen at the same time? Normally you'd have one or the other.

As you've found, too much substrate can have an insulating effect and cause overheating.
 
bitsy said:
Is there a reason why you've chosen to use carpet and aspen at the same time?


Well I have been doing some reading on this site and found that some put newspaper on the glass on top of the UTH to prevent snake burns...so i decided to use reptile carpet over the UTH only.
Click to expand...
 
The surface of the aspen being under-temp is not really a problem as long as you have a safe, consistent temperature on the glass/carpet (closest to the UTH). The snakes can always burrow under the aspen to reach the warmer temps if they need to. :)

If you're still concerned, you can lay a thinner layer of aspen down, and that will help some, though the glass/carpet and the aspen surface temps probably won't ever match exactly.
 
I guess I will remove the carpet, lay a thinner layer and measure temp on the glass. I will be getting my first snake this weekend, and want to make sure I have everything set up right. Thanks for the help.
 
Honestly, the carpet shouldn't make much difference in terms of temperature... I do think it might make things a little more difficult to clean, though! In the end, try it both ways and see what you/your new snake like best. :) As long as the temps are good, when it comes to carpet vs. aspen, neither is "wrong"!

Good luck! :D
 
Well I have been doing some reading on this site and found that some put newspaper on the glass on top of the UTH to prevent snake burns...so i decided to use reptile carpet over the UTH only.
Click to expand...
You can only really do that by using a thermostat to regulate the UTH. If the UTH is regulated then it will never get hot enough to cause burns.
 
I do have a thermostat....but when I had it on top of the bedding, the glass got around 93 or so....so I added the carpet.

Thanks.
 
You want it on the glass, I have seen snakes get under the carpet in pet shops and burn themselves because the idiots (not that you are an idiot, just the people at that shop) measured temps with a stick on thermometer like you use with an Anole. The temp on the glass where the snake was sleeping was 103. To be safe, just because corns are stubborn little burrowers, I would always measure the temp on the surface of the glass and not worry about the temp on top the bedding.
 
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