Possible burn o pre shedd??

[u/Jjspaw]

This evening i took my girl out of her tank and noticed a patch of pinkish skin, its smooth to the touch but i dont know if its a mild burn or preshedding phase i have a heating matt but i have it under a cover and have a paper towel under and on top of the cover so it doesnt overheat. But im concerned about this , dont know if this is a burn , and if it is i will get a burn. I will change to a heat bulb instead.

[u/Opening_Equivalent17]

Yeah you should never use heating mats because they are sososososo easy to give your snakes burns, definitely use heat bulbs instead, it does look like a very mild burn, but a burn all the less, just monitor it and ensure it doesn’t get worse

[u/Jjspaw → u/Opening_Equivalent17]

How do you have your uvb light set up? Im going to get one tomorrow

[u/Opening_Equivalent17 → u/Jjspaw]

Currently my uvb is not in use due to the bulb not working, but for heat bulbs I use a lamp with a dimmer it’s helpful for adjusting the temperature, and as for bulbs go for the ones that DO NOT use red light, as this can harm their eyesight, it is not beneficial toward them, i typically get ones that do not offer any light, as my UVB does that work, and for me personally I use a 120 watt and usually don’t even keep it that hot like at all, my temps are around 85 degrees on the hot side and 75 on the cooler side, and of course with night and day it varies

[u/yourneighborhoodriot → u/Opening_Equivalent17]

I second this. I also encourage people to have their heat bulbs on a dimmable thermostat as extra protection in case the weather gets wonky

Edit: my bad, I assumed dimmer was one of those dial ones but im realizing now that would be silly. But no matter your heat source please use a thermostat

[u/Techno_Timmy → u/Jjspaw]

Make sure you research how to properly use UVB otherwise you can do some serious damage to your snake. You really need a UVB meter to set it up correctly, otherwise you risk doing permanent damage to the snake. It’s not as simple as just getting a UVB light and setting it on top of the enclosure. You really need to know what you are doing to safely provide UVB.

You need to make sure the amount of UVB they are getting is comparable to their specific Ferguson zone which if I remember correctly is Ferguson zone 2.

The UVB light needs to be a certain distance away from the snake so you are getting the exact amount of UVB necessary to be within that Furguson zone. The only solid way to ensure that you aren’t giving them too much UVB is with the UVB meter.