hey i recently got my first bredli she was born in January 2018 according to the store i got her from and i read that the hot area for the enclosure should be about 32 i have a heat mat and a basking light but the hot zone doesn't feel like it is at 32 degrees she is very active at night and doesn't seem like she is slow or anything like that but i am just wondering if this is an issue i should fix right away or if its something that i dont need to stress about ( sorry for the dumb newbie question)
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Synveil
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You want to ensure you have your heating connected to a thermostat, and if not you want thermometers (the laser ones are good) to be able to watch the temps and be vigilant. especially if you have a light and a mat running there is a good chance it could be getting too hot.
she has a whole side where she can cool down thanks for the thermometer tip i will try and pick one up tomorrow if its not reaching 32 degrees tho what do you reckon i should do ? should i get a stronger lamp or a better mat ? or even add a heat rock cause i have one of those from when my dad had blue tongues years ago
Synveil
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I'd suggest not using a heat rock, they have a bad reputation of blowing up.
With both a heat mat and a heat light both set up (without a thermostat?) i would say its quite likely it may be getting above the temperature. Also running a heat globe will often raise the ambient temperature of the enclosure, so if your ventilation isn't up to scratch the ambient temperature on the ''cool'' end may still be rather high.
Problem is it is hard for us to tell the temps by feel alone, since our bodys sit internally at 36-37 degrees and our skin temp is around the 32-33 mark then its hard for us to get much of an accurate reading for what they require.
With both a heat mat and a heat light both set up (without a thermostat?) i would say its quite likely it may be getting above the temperature. Also running a heat globe will often raise the ambient temperature of the enclosure, so if your ventilation isn't up to scratch the ambient temperature on the ''cool'' end may still be rather high.
Problem is it is hard for us to tell the temps by feel alone, since our bodys sit internally at 36-37 degrees and our skin temp is around the 32-33 mark then its hard for us to get much of an accurate reading for what they require.
ahh okay i will need to get one tomorrow then and yea the ventilation is decent the roof is sorta like a grill so air gets in well and on the cool side there is a second smaller grill, thank you very much for taking the time to give info on this i really appreciate it i am doing my best to make her a good home but she is my first snake so i don't really know to many of the finer details to caring for her but i am figuring them out
Synveil
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All good, at least you came asking for advice rather than flailing about tryna figure stuff out. Lots of experienced keepers run a setup without a thermostat, but for someone starting out (as i did myself recently) I would HIGHLY suggest investing in a thermostat and a secondary means of keeping an eye on the temperature. As I said the laser thermometers are great cos they give you an instant readout of the surface temperature of what you point them at.
Getting the temps right is one of the most important and daunting things with getting started with a snake, but once you've done it once you will know almost exactly what you need to be doing. Depending on where you are at the moment given we are in summer you could also turn all heat sources off completely until you have a thermometer. Here in Perth at the moment a lot of keepers are running without a heat source at all as long as their snakes aren't sitting under an air con.
Pauls_Pythons
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As you mention a 'mesh' lid Im going to assume you are using a glass enclosure. (Please correct me if Im wrong).
These are renowned for being difficult to heat and as such you will use heaps of energy trying to increase temps with little benefit. Short term you could look at insulating the outside and covering some of the mesh to minimise heat loss.
Personally I wouldn't be doing anything without a good method for measuring the temps, (non contact thermometers are readily available as mentioned by others)
+1 the comment on heat rocks, dangerous things that shouldn't be allowed to be sold IMO.
Are you running heat 24/7?
As your snake is now over a year and we are in summer I would suggest no night time heat is required. (Last time I looked the sun didn't come up at night)
These are renowned for being difficult to heat and as such you will use heaps of energy trying to increase temps with little benefit. Short term you could look at insulating the outside and covering some of the mesh to minimise heat loss.
Personally I wouldn't be doing anything without a good method for measuring the temps, (non contact thermometers are readily available as mentioned by others)
+1 the comment on heat rocks, dangerous things that shouldn't be allowed to be sold IMO.
Are you running heat 24/7?
As your snake is now over a year and we are in summer I would suggest no night time heat is required. (Last time I looked the sun didn't come up at night)
i dont heat at night its just during the day
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