Grilled, Baked or Fried?

[Zarqwan]

Don't worry, I'm not about to start cooking snakes

I am planning my wooden vivarium and doing plenty of reading about how best to heat it. There seem to be plenty of conflicting views on how to acheive this. Some swear by mats, others by lamps or ceramics in lieu of a basking spot. Others will maintain that it is ambient temperature that is the key. Some will argue that a mat risks burning your snake like a frying pan, others will point out that ceramics or lamps are like putting your snake under a grill and only provide one concentrated spot of heat. I've even heard a suggestion to pile heavy rocks on a heat mat (but never one of those heated fake-rocks)

I know ectotherms thermoregulate in many ways. Some will bask, like lizards and rattlers for a radiating heat, other snakes seem to need an ambient convecting heat, such as arboreal or terrestrial forest snakes. Others get their heat not from the sun but from direct conduction with warm ground

What is the Royal Python's natural method for thermoregulation. Do they come out and bask under a lamp? If they spend their time hidden in termite mounds etc, would ambient heat be better? Or something warm to lie on if they like a conduction heat.

I'm so confused with it all

[LLLReptile]

Try heat panels. They don't feel warm to the touch but still heat up hiding spots etc underneath them. Low fire risk, not gonna overheat your wood terrarium, and not gonna dry out the air. Easier to mount than a light fixture and not as scary of a potential fire hazard as trying to put a heat pad in the cage.

-Jen

[satomi325]

Ball Pythons are nocturnal so it would be uncommon for them to bask in the sun.
They keep warm with the ambient temps and residual ground heat.

You can try a radiant heat panel and belly heat for your enclosure.
I really don't like heat lamps because they destroy humidity much too easily.

[Zarqwan]

Ball Pythons are nocturnal so it would be uncommon for them to bask in the sun.
They keep warm with the ambient temps and residual ground heat.

You can try a radiant heat panel and belly heat for your enclosure.
I really don't like heat lamps because they destroy humidity much too easily.

So a basic ambient temperature with some conduction heating. Do you think putting rocks on the heat mat would be good as well as an ambient source?

[Zarqwan]

A quick search of the net and it seems heat panels (RHP) are not widely known on this side of The Pond. It seems I might have to get one from over there. I wonder if they would take our manly 240v and not just 110v Having to get a voltage converter would be a bit of a pain.

[LLLReptile]

Email us to see if we can get European plugs for the Helix radiant heat panels. I know they do not come pre-assembled, so you might be able to get european versions of them. Mention that I sent you in the email I'm not 100% sure how that would work, but it doesn't hurt to check. I do know that we ship supplies internationally all the time, so we'd have that part covered for ya.

-Jen