New juvenile kingsnake

Hey i have a temp gun and currently have my thermostat set to 80 which gives a ambient of about 77-79f and a basking of 82-83f and the cool side is currently 73f and drops to 69 f at night

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That is a frustrating thing, yes, but it kinda points to the fact that these snakes can thrive in various environments. When you think about, that’s a good thing.

What do you mean by both sides? Are these thermometers down in the substrate? If they’re on the side of the enclosure, consider putting them down in the substrate where the snake actually is. Ambient air temps matter a lot for an arboreal species like an emerald tree boa hanging out on a branch. Substrate temps matter way more for your king snake. The temp gun is a great tool. :+1:

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This is so true. People worry way too much about ambient temps when they have terrestrial snakes. Substrate surface temps are the most important for snakes that live on the bottom of the enclosure.

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No they’re the kind that stick on the glass. He uses them to climb on sometimes. But his actual basking spot is a piece of bark I sanitized and is big enough for him to not on lay on he can also lay under it.

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The surface temperature of the basking spot at most gets to 83. And then the substrate surface is high 70s on the warm side.

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I am sorry, but those thermometers aren’t what you need. They’re fine for climbing, but not for actually checking his temps. You need to be measuring the temperature of the substrate. That’s where the the snake actually spends most of his time, including for digestion. High 70s is a bit cool for good digestion. The basking spot at 83 is an ok temp but even that is a bit cool. Youngsters won’t usually hang out in the open and bask to digest. Try and bump up temps.

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I got him to eat finally! Just needed to put him in a separate container

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I had temps higher but then people kept saying it was too hot

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Excellent!

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Glad to hear that he ate! :confetti_ball: if you can get his substrate temps over 80 it will be good for digesting.

Yayyyy!!!

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