Help as soon as possible is my snake sick??

Ah, then yeah, with the lamp that might not be for the best, but I'm actually not sure if it would melt or not. Better safe than sorry, though.

Big Apple Herp makes a heating pad designed to go inside of enclosures called the Intellitemp. I use one with a thermostat on it (I attached the thermostat probe directly to it w/ velcro) for my ball python. She snuggles up right next to it for about half of the day and spends the other half around her hide. For the pad (mine is a 10 watt) and thermostat it should be right around $50-60.

The reason I recommend the pad over a lamp is that no matter what type of lamp or bulb you use, they are always going to dry up the air because of how they transmit heat. Plus, with the pad, you can use the plastic over the top and keep the tank in use. It's still not the best housing situation, tanks have drawbacks to their design for pets that require humidity, but there are ways to make them work if you need to to keep the parents happy.

ohhh! i see what you mean yeah but she just doesn't like under heating pads even when it is heating up and doesn't make almost any heat yet so i don't really have an option to change the whole tank at least not soon

Might not be helpful, but regarding stopping evaporation through the top of the tank - if you are concerned about toxic gas from heating plastic wrap, a friend of mine simply put a wooden chopping board on top of the screen top (leaving a little room for air to enter of course).

A couple of questions/notes just to understand your situation more on heating pads:

1. Do you put it inside the tank or under it? Most that come with tanks like that should never be put inside the tank and with most beddings/substrates the heat has trouble penetrating unless you modify the depth somehow, so that may be an issue if you put it under.
2. Do you have a thermostat? If she is avoiding that spot specifically, usually it is getting too hot at some point in the day, maybe when you aren't around. Without a thermostat to regulate it, some heaters don't heat evenly or heat too much. You have to buy thermostats separately usually. You plug the heater into it and put a probe in your tank to read the temperature. It is different from a thermometer.

3. Have you ever removed the pad? I'm assuming it's a stick-on one since most kits include those, and if you have ever taken it off, it may have been damaged, causing odd behavior. Sometimes after being removed, they either don't work or some spots get dangerously hot and at odd times, not always consistently, so that could also be an issue.

- Generally, she shouldn't be capable of "liking" or "disliking" a heat pad, heat is heat, but if you only use them alone without a thermostat and/or don't place them just right, they can hurt more than they help.

Originally Posted by neocatlove

she doesn't use the heating pad for reasons unknown but it doesn't get very warm at all
i put my hand up to it and it is about as warm as when you sit down on a chair for a while and then get up and it did come with a thermostat

It's probably too warm for her which is why people are recommending a thermostat for the heat pad which will regulate the temperature. Human body temps are over 95 so if it feels warm to you, it's going to be too hot to her. A temp gun would tell you what temp it is reaching if you are able to get one (there are some affordable ones on amazon like this one https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lase...0601532&sr=8-3)

You've been given good advice already but I just wanted to add that. Good luck!! Don't get discouraged! Most of us have had to deal with these issues and make husbandry fixes when we were getting started too. Once it's all dialed in and set up correctly, it should be smooth sailing going forward.

How is she getting on? Eating for you?

thank you for checking! she is doing wonderful! she did shed and she has been eating a mouse each week

Good news. Very glad to hear it, well done!

thank you!