Re: back heat vs. belly heat
All of my snakes are on back heat (besides the ones with rhps) and they do just fine, I don't like that the temps are different under the substrate vs on top of the substrate with belly heat. Sure if you use thin substrate it works alright but I got an inch or more of cypress in each cage. I actually run my flexwatt at a lower temp and do not risk burns for digging snakes.
You can also check out what RBI has to say: http://www.reptilebasics.com/rack_faq
Quote:
Do these racks use belly heat or back heat? Which is better?
RBI Plastics Shoebox and Sweaterbox racks come standard with back heat. Which is better? We have found back heat to be every bit as effective, if not more so, than belly heat. The back heat in these racks will easily warm the back 1/3 to 1/2 of the boxes to a cozy 88-90 degrees. Actually it will get hotter than that if you don't use a thermostat or rheostat which is why one is required. The heat tends to be more even than belly heat which is usually in a more concentrated 3"-4" wide strip across the bottom. The heat gradually tapers off to about 80-82 in the front of the box. Our animals very easily thermoregulate with this setup and we have switched over to entirely back heated rack systems here.
Is belly heat bad? We dont think so, we just like this better. If you will be setting up the 32 Qt. Sweater Box Rack in a room that is regularly below 74 degrees you may want to consider the belly heat option. On the Shoe box and MCB-S tubs the back heat will provide great performance in all but the coolest of rooms (below 65 degrees). One note, with belly heat racks you MUST place your thermostat probe on the heat tape itself. NOT inside one of the tubs. On the CB-70 rack we install belly heat standard. The extra long CB-70 makes back heat ineffective. The heat tape is recessed into the shelves for years of maintenance free use in all of our belly heat models.
