Hi, just got my first royal 3 days ago, she’s just over 1 year old and I’ve put her straight into an adult enclosure, there’s plenty of clutter and plenty of hiding spaces but she seems to be prioritising the cool hide (all the hides are identical) I caught her last night on the warm end for a matter of minutes but went straight back to her cool hide, I’m worried she feels insecure at the warm end and worried she won’t thermo regulate, the ambiant air temps around the warm end is 89 to 90 and 80 on the cool end. Am I over thinking this and just need to give her more time to settle in or should I add more clutter to the warm end?
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Do you know how warm it is inside the hide? 90 air temp is ok, but it’s what’s inside the hide that’s really important.
It doesn’t sound concerning though imo, it’s pretty common, mine sometimes stays in the cool hide for weeks. Then he’ll just randomly stay in the warm hide for a few days, and then go back to his cool hide. Or vice versa. Many snakes only use the warm hide while they’re digesting.
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I wouldn’t worry too much, as long as they have adaquate hides on both sides they’ll shift around a lot and explore. Some of mine prefer the cold side and others are almost always on the hot side and it seems to depend on the individual.
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Roof of the hide on the inside is 87 substrate under hide is 83, would you say those temps are OK? She also has some. A basking spot Infront of her hide at around 92 to 94. and thanks for the reply
@a33088 The ideal temperature on the hot side for a BP is 86 to 88. She will need the hot side to digest her meals but she may be too warm on that side to stay there. If it were me, I would dial back the temps a bit. You want her to be comfortable enough to stay on the hot side long enough to digest her meals……
Of course when not digesting, bps still move back and forth from hot side to cool side……
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Yeah, this is on the borderline dangerous temp. If anything malfunctions, your baby can burn itself if it gets much hotter. I typically try to leave my hot spot at 88-90 at most. The air temps are 88 at most on the hot side. I usually aim for 85.
Exposure to temps over 90 for prolonged periods can cause dehydration, bad shedding and potentially neurological issues. It’s good that there is a well hidden cool side for them to feel comfortable in.
I think once the temps are balanced a bit more they should feel more comfortable and move about a bit more freely.
But that could still depend on your snake’s personality and the type of caging as well.
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If by basking spot you just mean the surface temperature that should be fine since she’s unlikely to actually spend any considerable amount of time there. It sounds like all the spots where she’s actually gonna potentially be laying are within acceptable temps, but like the others have mentioned, they’re in the upper limits of what’s acceptable. She might like it better if you lower the temp a bit on the hot side (around 88), and then place the hide directly underneath the lamp to hopefully get around 86 inside?
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Yea by basking spot I meant surface temp in front of hide but I will take this advice on board and drop the temps abit, I’m just worried that that may cause the cool side to drop, I think the hide she’s in at the moment is boarderline too cool, the ambiant air temp is 80 on that side and substrate around the hide is 77, I haven’t checked the substrate inside the hide as she is in it and I don’t want to stress her anymore then she already is but it’s bound to be below 77, I didn’t get too bogged down with the cool side hide temp during the set up has I assumed she’d utilise her warm, middle, and sky hide if she got too cold but I will drop the temps and see what happens, thankyou guys
86 to 88 ambiant or inside the hide temp?
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Inside the hide……
Edit to add: If you have the humidity around 50 to 60 percent and inside the hide 86 to 88 the ambient temperature will take care of itself. Imho I think people overthink the ambient temperature…… I would rather concentrate on correct hot side and humidity……
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I dropped the temps last night so let’s see what happens, I’m still convinced it’s a security thing with her been a junivile in a large viv, ever since I put her water bowl on her cool hide she won’t leave it, idk maybe it’s the extra weight or something, and now with that on top it’s not identical to the others, so ive thought if the temp trick doesn’t work maybe move the water bowl to the hot hide see if that works? Or take it off completely. I’m hating the fact she’s stressed and scared
Just leave her be - you only got her a few days ago, she’s likely stressed from the move. It can take weeks for them to settle in, even in perfect setups, and interacting with them and their setup too much will only prolong the stress. If she refuses to eat within a month or so, and you’ve left her alone during that time, then you can start tweaking the setup to see if that helps.
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Yes and @a33088 Give her at least a week to get comfortable and feel safe. And when I was working at my reptile vet’s she always said terrestrial snakes don’t live in the air in the enclosure so ambient air is not a concern to stress over. I don’t. But that’s me taking her advice…….
Edit to add: Except of course the arboreals that live in trees as well as the occasional ball python……
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Just let her settle in and do her thing. It takes them some time to adjust to their new surroundings, you just need to give her time to figure everything out. So long as your temps are correct, she’ll thermoregulate as she needs to.
That said, I totally relate to what you’re feeling. With my first two snakes, I watched them like a hawk when I got them and at times would think things like, "Oh no, she’s been in her cool hide for three days, OH GOD SHE MUST BE DEAD."
Snakes know what they need when they need it in terms of temperature. Your job as a keeper is to give your snake the proper gradient, and then to let her use that as she needs to. One of my snakes is almost always on her cool side. She only uses her warm hide for a few days after she eats, then returns to hanging out on the cool end, or sometimes in the middle of the enclosure. 
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Thanks guys, aside from changing water spraying, raising humidity and spot picking if needed im just going to leave her be, thanks so much for the replys really means a lot