Hi, I just wanted to share some info about hideboxes/burrowing substrate and its relationship to the temperature gradient.
As most of us know, snakes bask to warm up. When they get too hot, they move underground to cool off. The problem here comes when a ventral heat system, which I use along with most lampropeltine hobbyists.
When a snake is done "basking", it burrows into the aspen bedding, or whatever you use (besides newspaper). But the snake gets hotter, instead of cooler.
What I do to combat this problem is place most of the substrate towards the cool end of the cage, and very little over the heat pad. This gives the snake a wider range of temperatures with which to thermoregulate.
Pinstripe
