I usually stay out of these threads but :face_palm_02: here's my thoughts based on experience from "way back in the day" up to now
Now-a-days the consensus is to use a thermostat set at the glass temp to 87 +/-1 . Back in the day I can't even recall if we sold thermostats :shrugs:. I do remember when I went from hobbyist to retailer the learning curve I went through on proper heating of different species snakes. We made corrections by changing the thickness and/or kind of bedding when it came to UTH's. With heat lamps we changed the wattage and proximity.
I learned that ball pythons and red tail boas would get minor burns from heat sources where most colubrids would not. Corn snakes being smarter than the average snake when it came to unregulated UTH's never developed burns. It turned out that BP's and Boa's didn't have the genetic makeup to leave a hot spot when it became unsafe where the colubrids could sense when something was to hot and stay off it.
This subject has been hotly debated on here for along time. I believe 3 factors play a role on how we ended up where we are now . first being anthropomorphism. If it is to hot for me then it is to hot for the snake. I recall when a pet store opened up a couple of miles from mine. The proprietor was mainly a bird person and I was selling her my birds. She was selling snakes for another reptile guy and everytime I went in I noticed that she had either raised or removed the heat lamps. I would explain again the necessity of proper heating for snakes and her response every time was " It's to hot for me so it has to be to hot for them" :nope:
The second being the amount and length of experience of being a snake keeper. I kept Tex, my bull snake that lived into his early 20's, on a unregulated UTH for the 16+ years I had him with no issues. A couple of the most highly respected and experienced corn snake breeders recommend NOT to regulate UTH's. In fact I believe regulating it has caused numerous issues with first time corn snake owners with the number one issue being regurges from lack of enough heat.
The third is fact vs fiction. The saying of "if it's on the interweb then it has to be true" seems to have some weight behind it. If fiction is repeated enough then it becomes fact. I have spent hours fact checking UTH setups and what are the true temps in each location. Even tested the differences in using a probe thermometer vs a infrared gun to get the correct readings.
All that being said I've taken the position of if people want to regulate their UTH's for what is really their own peace of mind then go ahead BUT I still recommend keeping the thermostat probe inside the hot side hide. IMO that is where the temp matters the most. It seems over the last few years the cold side of a habitat has gone from room temp (68+/-) to keeping it at a steady 75 ?? I don't why that temp has creeped up over the years :shrugs:
I do prefer warmer temps for hatchlings than juveniles and adults on the cold side. I keep my newly hatched snakes at steady incubation temps until they are eating regularly. Definitely certain things influence my decision on temps.
The bottom line here is when it comes to getting the proper heat gradient then if you need to use a OTH then go ahead
k_01:
