UV Heat?

Hey,
Panic set in the other night when I couldn't find my BP anywhere...but there he was, laid comfortably along the entire length of his UV tube light! The light was off, and he hasn't gone near it when its on as far as I know, but could it do harm to him if he were to lay on it whilst it was on? I've felt the bulb, and although it gets warm, it doesn't really get hot. Is it safe to have this bulb somewhere where he can reach it or is the small amount of heat likely to cause damage if he led on it for a prolonged period of time?
Any helps appreciated,
Cheers!!

no uv of any type is required, i wouldn't let snakes crawl around bulbs.



vaughn

Please don't let your snake have access to unprotected lighting. This is Orlah who we found in a pet store last year. She'd been dumped there by her previous owners. Our vet believes that the long dorsal scarring was caused by Orlah coming in contact with a hot bulb when she was a very young snake. It must have been a horribly painful injury for this lovely female Ball Python.

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...lahMay2006.jpg

Ball pythons are nocturnal (awake at night) and do not benefit from UV lighting in the same way that other diurnal (awake during the day) reptiles do.

Having any kind of lighting, whether for heating or aesthetic purposes, inside a cage that the snake can come into direct contact with is a receipe for disaster. I'd say remove it immediately.