No belly heat???

[gopherhockey03]

Just curious to see if anyone here does not use belly heat? I was speaking with a couple breeders who only use ambient temps for their entire collection. The breeder I spoke with leaves his room at a constant 83F-84F, and has had zero problems with health, feeding and breeding. His reasoning was ball pythons spend 90% of their time in termite mounds, and only leave that mound at night. While temps in their natural range may reach high 80’s low 90’s, they are only being exposed to the 82-84 temp range of the termite mounds and the high 70’s to low 80’s night temps. Just curious to get other opinions on this, and to see if anyone else successfully keeps their collection with this method!


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[CALM Pythons]

Just curious to see if anyone here does not use belly heat? I was speaking with a couple breeders who only use ambient temps for their entire collection. The breeder I spoke with leaves his room at a constant 83F-84F, and has had zero problems with health, feeding and breeding. His reasoning was ball pythons spend 90% of their time in termite mounds, and only leave that mound at night. While temps in their natural range may reach high 80’s low 90’s, they are only being exposed to the 82-84 temp range of the termite mounds and the high 70’s to low 80’s night temps. Just curious to get other opinions on this, and to see if anyone else successfully keeps their collection with this method!


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Depending on enclosure type several of us use RHP only. We have them on the Hotside and they in return make the cool side ambient 78.
Others use a Basking Bulb,CHE etc on the Hotside and a Electric oil heater to heat the entire snake room to 78.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Been doing it 7 to 8 months out of the year for 8 years.

[Craiga 01453]

I only run belly heat in the winter months when the room my enclosures are in drops temps.
This is my first year going that route, but have noticed no differences at all yet.
They all eat, shed, act the same, utilize both/all hides offered, etc...

As long as proper ambient temps are maintained there should be no issues.

[SDA]

If you can provide a stable heat environment by heating the ambient room temperature the snakes are kept in or you live in an environment where temperatures are adequate for the majority of the year then there is no reason to need an under tank heating source. I provide one because I am able to, I want to, my snake uses it, and it gets cold in my house and I do not have a isolated and dedicated snake room to provide adequate heating.

I have an enclosure big enough and staged well enough that my snake feels safe and comfortable and regulates depending on his need at the time. I have another snake that never goes to the ground to rest or digest so belly heat is pointless. I have a third snake that is nearly subterranean and as such "belly heat" is an absolute must.

Do what you think is right for your snake, not something a commercial breeder tells you to do.

[cchardwick]

I think for most setups it's much cheaper to heat a few heat panels in the mid 80s than it is to heat an entire room at that temp. I keep my room temp at 81F and my hotspots at 88F. I tried warming up the room to mid 80s but I found it very uncomfortable working in a room at that temp. 81F is about the max temp that I'd like to be in when I clean snake tubs LOL.

[Sonny1318]

I use 40 watt red bulbs, and keep my house at 74 degrees. I’ve kept snakes for 35 years. As soon as I got my first place were I controlled the thermostat, I never looked back. My experience leads me to believe 90 degrees is high, they thrive better in the mid eighties. I tried the 90/92 degree, not a fan. Too hot in my opinion. And back in the nineties a lot of breeders were already aware of that. It’s probably why so many struggle with humidity.

[CALM Pythons]

Do what you think is right for your snake, not something a commercial breeder tells you to do.

Great Statement ^^^
Consider your living situations as SDA explained and do what is best for your situation.

[CALM Pythons]

I use 40 watt red bulbs, and keep my house at 74 degrees. I’ve kept snakes for 35 years. As soon as I got my first place were I controlled the thermostat, I never looked back. My experience leads me to believe 90 degrees is high, they thrive better in the mid eighties. I tried the 90/92 degree, not a fan. Too hot in my opinion. And back in the nineties a lot of breeders were already aware of that. It’s probably why so many struggle with humidity.

Agree.

[AbsoluteApril]

Agreed, do what works for you and there are many different ways that 'optimal' can be achieved.
For me - I have a heated snake room and for the species that need higher warm side temps, those racks and enclosures have back heat.