hatchling rack heat..back or belly??

There are mixed feelings going around about back or belly heat for hatchlings. What seems to work the best. IE: Im looking into getting a hatchling/juvi rack in the near future and am trying to decide what heat option to get.

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Originally Posted by jdmls88

There are mixed feelings going around about back or belly heat for hatchlings. What seems to work the best. IE: Im looking into getting a hatchling/juvi rack in the near future and am trying to decide what heat option to get.

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For balls, I'd go with belly heat.

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Originally Posted by starmom

For balls, I'd go with belly heat.

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for hatchling balls?

Something about having direct belly heat with hatchlings doesn't sound like the best idea. Basically, being so small, and able to be affected very quickly by a source of direct belly heat. A strip of 3" flexwatt will heat up a 80 gram baby much faster than a 1500 gram adult should they choose to sit on it for an extended period of time.

That being said, I'm sure that there are people out there also that use it without any problems whatsoever.

I do know that a lot of breeders out there don't provide supplemental heat at all for hathlings, and instead maintain a steady ambient temperature. The Barker's say they keep their hatchlings around 85 degrees constantly, I believe.

I used back heat with all of my hatchlings this year and had no problems with feeding or growth.

animal plastics has a new way to heat racks called dual side radiant that covers the back 25% of the rack with flex on the sides and is supposed to be more efficient. They say it also increases ambient tub temps more than belly heat. I think in the long run this could end up saving people money!