I’m trying to raise my ambient heat, I moved up north and now my heating pads aren’t quite cutting it. I posted in several local online groups to get people’s opinions on radient heat panels, deep penetrating heat emitters, and ceramic heat emitters. I did research, and there was a good bit of conflicting info. I keep ball pythons, a spotted python, and a hognose and all my tanks are glass.
I got a ton of hate about using belly heat at all. Pretty much everyone told me it was abusive and halogen bulbs are the only good heat with deep penetrating heat at night if you absolutely have to.
I’m really confused, because I’ve kept snakes for five years and every breeder and vet I’ve talked to has said heating pads are safe and effective as long as they are managing ambient temperature and on a thermostat. I also can’t find any actual research papers regarding the benefits of halogens. I found one that mentioned cancer risks in mice and that’s about it, and I was using my vet school email, so I get access to a ton of papers.
I’m really not trying to cause controversy, I’m just kind of lost. I have cats, and due to space issues, I don’t really have a room for just reptiles, so I’m worried about injuries to the snakes, cats, and fire risks with halogens or CHEs.
What are y’all’s recommendations? And does anyone know why everyone was so upset with my care?
I’m sorry that you ran into such hostility. That’s an unfortunate aspect of several online spaces, where people seem to have a goal of knocking down anyone who does things differently, let alone if someone is actually doing something harmful. You’ll find a different ethos here. We want to help and support each other and the animals we all love.
To address your question, there’s nothing wrong with belly heat although I know it’s a hot button issues for some. Glass does have a harder time holding heat, that’s just physics, but it can certainly work. You just need a way to help it.
You can boost the efficacy of your UTH immediately and easily by putting heat-safe insulation beneath the pad. You can use the sheets of fiberglass-type insulation (like what comes with shipments of frozen feeders). I’ve done that with glass tanks down on the floor and it is super effective. It’s fireproof, too. It doesn’t even seems like it melts. Yes, we’ve tested it, lol. Foam board can work, too. You can get the stuff at building supply places. It’s fine to cut and place a sheet under the whole tank.
There’s nothing wrong with other heat methods, and I’m sure somebody will come in with their experience. Mine all have belly heat of various types.
Thank you! The ball python is actually new. His owner was moving and was talking about dumping him. He came with about 5 layers of stuck shed and some discoloration around his mouth, so we’re actually taking a trip to the vet tomorrow. He was kept without a thermostat as far as I can tell. His shed has mostly come off with a soak and a ton of sphagnum moss and he’s eating well.
Is the first one a spotted python? It’s very pretty! I love the color! Your ball python is very nice as well! Sounds like it came from a terrible situation. I just hate it when people don’t take care of their animals properly. I am so glad that you guys are making a vet visit just in case.
Btw, are you going to be a reptile vet or a regular animal vet? Both are fabulous!
Ok so I’m n my humble opinion I myself don’t worry about ambient temps because bps are primarily terrestrial so they live on the bottom of the tank, not in the air. And you really don’t need a ton of super thick substrate either because they don’t burrow. They hide in hides! Using a heat pad the way @caryl described will work just fine.
There’s nothing wrong with using belly heat. Most reptile people I’ve talked to, including myself, use belly heat. I had no idea it was controversial. Some people really will pick stupid hills to die on.
I use a combination of UTHs, CHEs, deep heat projectors, and radiant heat panels, depending on what type of enclosure I’m using. CHEs will dry things out, so I recommend against them for any species that needs some humidity. If adding insulation doesn’t get your temps high enough, I’d recommend trying a deep heat projector. It won’t dry things out like a CHE or halogen, and it doesn’t produce light, so you can use it at night (again, unlike a halogen).
She was sold to me as a spotted, but I’m pretty sure she’s either a children’s or a hybrid. Her spotting has gotten much lighter as she’s aged. She’s wonderful, very adventurous and curious. One might even say nosy. I’m trying to decide between specializing in reptiles or in public health!
Could she be a Stimsons? Either way she is very lovely!
Either would be very nice! I was an assistant for an amazing small animal/reptile vet years ago. I learned quite a bit. She sees all furred animals including pocket pets, birds, fish, wildlife and of course just about any reptile you can think of. I kinda hope you opt for the reptile vet……
I’ll echo all the other great people who’ve already apologized for the not nice people who were nasty to you. In this forum, it’s a community. We come from all walks of life, all different backgrounds, all age groups. We’re a great mix of breeders, keepers, not-yet-owners of reptiles, geneticists, vets, contractors, and everywhere in between. What’s different is that we are all here for the greater good of our reptiles and animals in general. So please stick around!
Congratulations, and thank you in advance for all the great things you will be doing for the veterinary industry in the future!
I used foam board under my heat mat when I kept my snakes in glass enclosures. I covered the majority of the mesh top with foil tape to keep humidity and temps as close to standard recommendations as possible with good success.
Let us know if you have other questions, and how it works out for you whether you continue using a heat mat, or if you choose another heat source. People do thing differently, and most of the time there’s really not a wrong vs. right way of heating enclosures as long as the end result is within the proper parameters for heat and humidity.
You can try to find some PVC enclosures that keepers are getting rid of, idk what direction to point you to other than maybe facebook or craigslist but I know there are always people selling things they no longer need for a decent price.
Those rude people can stick it up their ass. Belly heat is perfectly fine to use when the temps can be monitored and adjusted, I use belly and overhead heating on almost all of my reptiles excluding those who don’t really need to exceed room temperature and both of my nocturnal Boa species that use CHE and they do really well. Sure, halogen bulbs are fine, they supposedly save on energy and are cheap but its not everyone’s preference and they shouldn’t be d!ckheads because someone else uses a different method
I hear a lot of people who also use oil based heaters in their animal rooms if I’m remembering that correctly, someone correct me if I’m wrong. They dont suck the moisture out of the air like other heaters do and they disperse and heat rooms really well.
