Heating PVC enclosure for BRB

Hi everyone. I have a young female brb that lives in a pretty basic tub setup. I just came into possession of a brand new 24x24 pvc enclosure that I would like to move her into. I know it's a little big but I was planning on cluttering it up with foliage and decore/hides.

My biggest issue is heating. My plan was to get a RHP but I read a post that it's not appropriate for a brb?? I need to be sure about this before I purchase one. I'm in Canada and an 80watt heat panel is going to cost me $130 + shipping (40 watts are $100). It's a big investment and I can't afford to waste that much money.

Will an RHP create a good enough environment for her? I know I can use a uth. I'm just looking for the best option since brb's are pretty sensitive to temps. I already have a Herpstat ready and waiting for whatever heating element I choose.

My BRB is in a pvc cage that's 4ft x 2ft x 18in. He has a uth and a rhp. I found that the rhp does not heat the entire cage properly without creating a hot spot that is to warm for him. I now have all my snakes in one room and heat the room with a oil filler heater. I still run the uth and rhp for a warm spot but hardly ever uses it. His favorite place is his pool or under the newspaper. I don't even put hides in there any more.

The rhp can work just fine for a BRB but the issue can be if the rhp and cage you have will work properly in your home. The one good think about a BRB is they do not require as warm of temps as many so it may be a bit easier for you to get set up.

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Originally Posted by KMG

My BRB is in a pvc cage that's 4ft x 2ft x 18in. He has a uth and a rhp. I found that the rhp does not heat the entire cage properly without creating a hot spot that is to warm for him. I now have all my snakes in one room and heat the room with a oil filler heater. I still run the uth and rhp for a warm spot but hardly ever uses it. His favorite place is his pool or under the newspaper. I don't even put hides in there any more.

The rhp can work just fine for a BRB but the issue can be if the rhp and cage you have will work properly in your home. The one good think about a BRB is they do not require as warm of temps as many so it may be a bit easier for you to get set up.

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Darn. I was hoping I wouldn't need both. Now that you mention the home environment, I probably will. My house is pretty chilly.... and old. I originally bought a heater for the snakes but it tripped the breaker so I can't use it. We have really old electrical. Sigh.

I have my three snakes in my closet right now. I can control the temp in the small space pretty easily. I was hoping things would simplify with a pvc enclosure but maybe that won't be the case. I'll have to get the rhp, I guess, and do some experimenting.

Sadly experimenting is really the only way you will know for sure.

Though I have both a rhp and uth, do not think that you need both. I have them both because....well, because I do. I went with the rhp's thinking they would heat the cages by themselves but my house was just to cold, because I like it cold. Being that uth are pretty cheap I went ahead and added one to each cage just for more options.

Since my house is to cold I closed the vent and heat the room. I keep the room around 75-77 with the heater and leave the uth and rhp on to give my snakes a nice hot spot if they decide they want it. Im sure they would be happy with either and really do not require both. Like I said my BRB hardly ever is found in the warm zone and my big Blood girl only visits it occasionally. I have tried different temps and configurations but the results were always the same with them.

Even my thicker pvc cage for my gtp would not get warm enough with the rhp alone. In the end a rhp just does not do what I need in the size cages I have. Im left with heating the room but I really don't mind and its much better than using a bunch of heat bulbs as I did before.

If I had it to do over again and knew I was going to be heating a room I would have saved the money on the rhp's and use uth's. However I do like them and for my GTP it is a must. But if you are trying to save some money it may not be the best option for you in a cold home.

Like mentioned, you need to experiment. I personally only use RHP for my 48x24x14 PVC cage for one of my BCI girls and it heats it fine. And for my other 2 girls, I use just a CHE all set with Herpstats in 40g breeders temporarily and it works fine there. I do keep my house kind of warm though at around 75F. I'm not too sure about BRBs but I know with BCI and BPs, you don't necessarily need a hot spot per say as long as the ambient temp is warm enough. A RHP will raise the ambient temp and can provide a warm spot assuming you have something under it to warm. A UTH will only provide a warm spot, not heat the air. And also it depends on your substrate. I use about 2" deep aspen so a UTH for me would be worthless but the RHP does heat the aspen under it.