back heat vs belly heat

[sasT]

Hello everyone,
I made this thread with one question on my mind: What is the difference between back heat and belly heat?
For instance I have noticed that most breeders use back heat for their baby pythons and belly heat for adults (those they breed). Let's say I have 2 adult pythons that I want to breed together .. is there actually any difference between back and belly heat? I mean are there any tricks to it? (like belly heat helping the creation of eggs in the female or sperm development in males, or if belly heat makes them breed more successfuly - just guessing here of course)
If someone could explain to me what is the difference I would greately appreciate it, since I am deciding on back or belly heat for my own ball pythons
Thank you for your time and kind regards,
Andrej

[Stewart_Reptiles]

It's a matter of preference and also environment.

In a room where temps are below 75/76 I would recommend belly heat.

One thing to keep in mind about heat is that it rises up. Back heat means more heat loss.

It is often used for hatchlings since 6 quarts tubs are to small to allow a real gradient when using belly heat. I use belly heat for hatchling however I keep it at 84 so they do not have real gradient but a higher ambient temp instead.

As for breeding I can tell you that eggs can be produced even without a hot spot so long you have a higher ambient temp

[L.West]

I have both belly heat and back heat in my various racks. With backheat - you need to monitor your room temps much more closely. The one thing I really like about backheat is that the tub slides in and out without rubbing against the heattape which will eventually wear it out.

As stated, I think it is a personal preference.

[OhhWatALoser]

I switched all my racks to backheat, using substrate I had undesirable temps with belly heat, switching to back heat solved my problem.

It depends on a few factors on what's best, room temps, design of rack, what's in the tub,ect.

[sasT]

Thank you very much for your replies .. but when do you think back heat is viable? for instance .. I am using V70 tubs for my adults, do you think back heat would be viable in this case? (because of the shape of V70 tubs)

[satomi325]

It really depends on your room temps and how stable the temps stay. Back heat heats up the air so it has to be set higher than belly heat. Belly heat just provides that one hot spot.

I originally had a back heat rack with a single piece of 11 inch flexwatt running behind it. It worked out great. It provided the perfect temperature gradiant. The air and space closest to the flexwatt was 90 degrees and the cool side was a nice 80. However, my room only stays 75ish. In order to achieve the 90 hot spot, my flexwatt ran like 120 degrees. I switched to belly heat because of this. According to the manufacturer, Flexwatt shouldn't be used over 100-105 degrees. And Rich from Reptile Basics have pointed out certain potential dangers when it exceeds recommended temps for extended periods of time. It also shortens the life of flexwatt. (Its another thread here with the title "flexwatt over 100?" Or something similar. Can't remember the exact name)

Once I changed to belly heat, the flexwatt no longer has to run as high. I currently have it at 95 to achieve a 90 hot spot in the tubs. The reason being because its not solely heating the air temp to provide the right hot spot temps.

Thats just my experience with back and belly heat. I like back heat more, but for the safety of my home and animals, I didn't feel comfortable running the flexwatt that high to achieve perfect tub temps. Like I said before, it really depends on your room temperature and how stable it is.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[sasT]

But would back heat be viable for heating V70 tubs (because of their shape - the back side of the tub isn't vetical it's more like 60 degree angle) Or in other words if anyone has tried back heat on V70 tubs?
regards, Andrej

[OhhWatALoser]

I use back heat on my 41qt sterlites. they got a sloped shape also. I run the heat tape along the back and a foot up the side to provide a bigger hotspot. All of my racks run about 97-100 to achieve a 92 degree hot spot.

[sasT]

you foot up the side to provide a bigger hot spot? I apologize but I don't understand what that means .. I will go with backheat myself and I would really appreciate it if you could take a picture and paste it here so I see exactly how you did it since you say it is working great for you .. so obviously your sistem is perfectly done and if you don't mind I would like to copy it
thank you and kind regards, Andrej

[Blubb]

I use belly heat for all sizes of snakes. Since my room is about 72-74 degrees I find it better with belly heat.