Merlin, and the rest, thanks for putting up with me. For all my fretting, Roxy shed a beautiful skin and is ready for some lovin'! I'm going to try to get some pictures tonight so I can post over the weekend. She is a slendid creature!! She seems content and responds nicely every night. Even during shedding she let me pet and talk to her,while I was continually in her space moving thermometers and making adjustments. She didn't soak much so I kept petting her with a warm, wet hand. The skin measured 8 foot + but I am allowing for some stretch during the process.

No putting up with you about it!
We get it!
Looking forward to the pictures!

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I posted a picture(s) in the gallery. I'm still trying to master the site. Please bear with me. I am going to try to post some more, if I did it wrong don't mind the photos. I usually let the kids play with the cameras.

You did fine.
Thats a nice looking snake!

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Merin, I see you are an Adminstrator. I put my son's picture in the wrong spot. Sorry. Couldn't be helped. I'm the kind of girl that throws the directions out first. I just always wonder why I have an extra bolt or washer.

There IS that rumor floating around!
Why is it in the wrong spot?
There IS a snake in the picture!

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Instead of mounting a million themometers all around the cage you can buy the laser pointer type temp guns pretty reasonably online and spot check, they are supposedly a lot more accurate as well. They are "surface temp" as opposed to "ambient temp", whether or not that makes a signifigant difference someone more experienced might want to answer. In my experience the surface is pretty close to the ambient esp. since you can spot-check any particular basking area you'd like with the temp gun. I've had more luck getting temps right with a temp gun than mounted thermometers.

The temp guns are wonderful tools for spot checking on things but you still need a good thermometer that will constantly monitor things. All you really need are probes in the hot area and the cold area. Everything in between will balance out. I use 2 digitals on each large enclosure. The readouts are outside the cage for ease in checking. If you want you can use just one digital inside the cage, the remote probe in the basking area and the readout in the cooler area. But then you have to manually switch it back and forth to check.
What I really like about them is the minimum maximum feature. Temperatures can vary surprising over the course of a 24 hour period and this records those swings.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Can you believe I am still struggling with this?? When she was active she knocked down the "sticky" regular thermothers anyway so the whole thing was moot. God love her! My probe thermother was giving me a reading of 79 degrees in the middle of the cage today. I am going to the pet store anyway for a frosen rat pop so I will see what they have. I would like one on each end and one in the middle. Digital is easier to read. She seems happy either way and hung out yesterday for about an hour on me and in the play room I make for her in the bathroom. I am starting another thread because, like any new mother, I am stressing over everything. I like the temp gun idea, Semanticprison, (interesting name). If they don't have it at my pet shop can you recommend a franchise that may sell them? At least for a quick check. My eyesight isn't what it was at 20. Oops! Did I just admit I haven't seen 20 in a while??

Check out Temp guns, infrared thermometer, wireless thermometer, by Pro Exotics, PE-1, PE-2, PE-3, temperature measurement, infrared thermometers
I use the PE2.

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!