Is *belly* heat important?

[CopperNightShade]

I just got my new (awesome) wooden enclosure for my carpet, and I have been fiddling with the heat to get everything in the correct gradient and all.

My question is this: currently the hot spot in the tank (94F) is on one of the large bamboo perches in the tank. I know he isn't a GTP, but he *loves* climbing and hanging out up there. Is having the hot spot off the ground OK, or does he really need a heated floor tile or similar belly heat to digest?

Thanks in advance!

[JungleCarpet81]

Do not quote me on this but none of my jungles ( I had two a few yrs back and sold them then last month got a new one) ever had (or have now) any heat from the floor in any type of way and they seem to do just fine without it. below is a picture of my set up (40 gallon breeder) and all I have on the top of it is a heat lamp. Inside is an igloo hut with moss in it a water dish on the other side and the soda case you see in the picture. He/she eats just fine (As you see from my "i got tagged" thread). The food never comes back up and since the first time I fed him/her it has always eating minus belly heat.

Yes a Hot spot off of the floor is just fine as lot as its hot enough to help him digest his food and as long as he cant come into contact with the bulb at all thats ok too.

Before you go by my word see what other people have to say regarding your and my own posts.

[kitedemon]

No you don't have to have belly heat that is a myth. As long as you provide the correct temps (hot 90-94 cool 79-83 and ambient 80-85 ) how you get there doesn't matter. Radiant heat panels are likely the most natural heat available.

[JungleCarpet81]

Do not quote me on this but none of my jungles ( I had two a few yrs back and sold them then last month got a new one) ever had (or have now) any heat from the floor in any type of way and they seem to do just fine without it. below is a picture of my set up (40 gallon breeder) and all I have on the top of it is a heat lamp. Inside is an igloo hut with moss in it a water dish on the other side and the soda case you see in the picture. He/she eats just fine (As you see from my "i got tagged" thread). The food never comes back up and since the first time I fed him/her it has always eating minus belly heat.

Yes a Hot spot off of the floor is just fine as lot as its hot enough to help him digest his food and as long as he cant come into contact with the bulb at all thats ok too.

Before you go by my word see what other people have to say regarding your and my own posts.

The only thing different I think with belly heat is that it speeds up the digestion process but since the rats/mice we put in our snakes bodies are already at room tempeture the hot spots do everything else just fine...If you didnt have a hot spot (since you dont have a heatmat) then you might be in trouble as far as food and digestion goes.

[Brandon Osborne]

No offense to anyone, but I would never offer a hot spot of 90 or above. Kept carpets on and off since 1993. Tracy Barker even told me once to keep babies no higher than 84. For adults I shoot for 84-87. I've also done room temp heat with equal success. Do what works best for your animals...they are all different.

Again, please do not take offense to my opinion. I just think many people keep their snakes too hot.

[CopperNightShade]

Thank you to everyone who responded! I am happy to hear that he should be okay.

The perch (that he is currently chillin on) itself is running about 88F on the surface, and up to roughly 92 directly under the lamp (ambient).

I have heard both sides of the coin on the top heat too... I never take offense to information! I just based my temps off of ACReptile's care sheet - but I will ask my exotic vet what he thinks about the temps too.

PS: That is a beautiful python! You said it was a JCP?

[mainbutter]

Here's my take on heating snakes:

Ball pythons rarely bask in the sun. They are very nocturnal, and receive just about all their heat from areas that were warmed by the sun before nighttime, and from their borrowed burrows that they hide in during the day which provide a fairly comfortable ambient temperature during inactive times. I like belly heat with a warm ambient temperature.

Carpet pythons are definitely baskers, coming out to make use of bright warm sunlight. I prefer a CHE/sun lamp for daytime basking with a slightly cooler ambient temperature that varies with the season.

I tend to attempt to emulate such conditions as best I can for any species when designing an enclosure. The carpets that are in planted vivariums w/o belly heat (but have CHEs for basking spots) in fact make use of the shade and cooler ground to avoid heat when they're ready to find a cool spot for a while.

That said, I do currently use CHEs in some enclosures and flexwatt belly heat in others. All my carpet pythons seem to be doing extremely well.

I would not say that belly heat is important, but it is a perfectly fine choice. Just about all heating sources are proven to work very well with carpet pythons.

As far as temperatures go, these guys are pretty tolerant of a wide range, most exemplified by just taking a look at the seasonal averages of their native ranges. I let them experience ambients in the low/mid 80s during a peak of summer and mid 60s in winter.

Don't get sucked into following a single care sheet. Use your head, watch your animals, find out what works for you AND them. Reading animal behavior isn't that tricky if you spend some time with them.

I hope that helps.

P.S. I think the carpet python in the pic above is at least part coastal.

[JungleCarpet81]

Thank you to everyone who responded! I am happy to hear that he should be okay.

The perch (that he is currently chillin on) itself is running about 88F on the surface, and up to roughly 92 directly under the lamp (ambient).

I have heard both sides of the coin on the top heat too... I never take offense to information! I just based my temps off of ACReptile's care sheet - but I will ask my exotic vet what he thinks about the temps too.

PS: That is a beautiful python! You said it was a JCP?

Yes, Its a JCP Im hoping to get TWO more the week of the 20th we'll see what happens.

[JungleCarpet81]

Here's my take on heating snakes:

Ball pythons rarely bask in the sun. They are very nocturnal, and receive just about all their heat from areas that were warmed by the sun before nighttime, and from their borrowed burrows that they hide in during the day which provide a fairly comfortable ambient temperature during inactive times. I like belly heat with a warm ambient temperature.

Carpet pythons are definitely baskers, coming out to make use of bright warm sunlight. I prefer a CHE/sun lamp for daytime basking with a slightly cooler ambient temperature that varies with the season.

I tend to attempt to emulate such conditions as best I can for any species when designing an enclosure. The carpets that are in planted vivariums w/o belly heat (but have CHEs for basking spots) in fact make use of the shade and cooler ground to avoid heat when they're ready to find a cool spot for a while.

That said, I do currently use CHEs in some enclosures and flexwatt belly heat in others. All my carpet pythons seem to be doing extremely well.

I would not say that belly heat is important, but it is a perfectly fine choice. Just about all heating sources are proven to work very well with carpet pythons.

As far as temperatures go, these guys are pretty tolerant of a wide range, most exemplified by just taking a look at the seasonal averages of their native ranges. I let them experience ambients in the low/mid 80s during a peak of summer and mid 60s in winter.

Don't get sucked into following a single care sheet. Use your head, watch your animals, find out what works for you AND them. Reading animal behavior isn't that tricky if you spend some time with them.

I hope that helps.

P.S. I think the carpet python in the pic above is at least part coastal.

I actually got this from a friend of mine and it was told it was a JCP...I honestly myself only went by what I see in the pictures so it might be coastal...I'm not 100% sure. I do for a fact its in the jungle family lol....

[CopperNightShade]

Here's my take on heating snakes:

Ball pythons rarely bask in the sun. They are very nocturnal, and receive just about all their heat from areas that were warmed by the sun before nighttime, and from their borrowed burrows that they hide in during the day which provide a fairly comfortable ambient temperature during inactive times. I like belly heat with a warm ambient temperature.

Carpet pythons are definitely baskers, coming out to make use of bright warm sunlight. I prefer a CHE/sun lamp for daytime basking with a slightly cooler ambient temperature that varies with the season.

I tend to attempt to emulate such conditions as best I can for any species when designing an enclosure. The carpets that are in planted vivariums w/o belly heat (but have CHEs for basking spots) in fact make use of the shade and cooler ground to avoid heat when they're ready to find a cool spot for a while.

That said, I do currently use CHEs in some enclosures and flexwatt belly heat in others. All my carpet pythons seem to be doing extremely well.

I would not say that belly heat is important, but it is a perfectly fine choice. Just about all heating sources are proven to work very well with carpet pythons.

As far as temperatures go, these guys are pretty tolerant of a wide range, most exemplified by just taking a look at the seasonal averages of their native ranges. I let them experience ambients in the low/mid 80s during a peak of summer and mid 60s in winter.

Don't get sucked into following a single care sheet. Use your head, watch your animals, find out what works for you AND them. Reading animal behavior isn't that tricky if you spend some time with them.

I hope that helps.

P.S. I think the carpet python in the pic above is at least part coastal.

Thank you thank you thank you! I looked to a lot of your posts concerning carpets before I decided to get one, and you always seem to have practical advice. Sure enough, I fed my little rug-rat yesterday, and today he is perched up under his ceramic heat lamp. Viola!