Personal Heating preference

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Originally Posted by TekWarren

I can't agree more with you on that last statement. As long as the individual knows they are providing the best conditions, how they do it may not be same as the next person. This was my basic point above :)

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Agreed.

I think the poll is going to be skewed anyway - I feel like most people are just going to vote for the type of heating they actually use and not so much what they actually prefer.

For those with glass tanks in 70-72 degree rooms, its going to be difficult to get a 92 degree hot spot with 82 degree ambient temps with a heat pad alone, espcially when using even a thin layer of substrate.

For racks and plastic enclosures, they tend to hold more heat in, and therefore, belly heat is all that may be required to keep your temps right.

I still haven't been convinced either way about whether or not it's better for the snake to receive its heat from underneath (belly heat) or from above them; I haven't seen/heard/read anything the makes a convincing case for either option. What I do know is that I've seen plenty of healthy snakes in glass tanks and rack systems alike.

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Originally Posted by elevatethis

For those with glass tanks in 70-72 degree rooms, its going to be difficult to get a 92 degree hot spot with 82 degree ambient temps with a heat pad alone, espcially when using even a thin layer of substrate.

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Well said. That's why I (and many others I'm sure) need overhead heat as well as belly heat to achieve proper temps.

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Originally Posted by BiG~PUN

I grew up in Utah. Layton to be exact. I heard they where getting anal about herps. True?

:hijackd: Sorry

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Right on, I live in Woods Cross. I go to Layton all the time.

Some cities are getting pretty bad. Jeremy Stone was going to move to Spanish Fork I beleive, but they would not let him. He ended up building a facility in Lindon. I am hoping to go see it soon... He is having about 70 boa litters and about 175 bp clutches this year! :eek:

I think it would be basically impossible to heat the enclosure correctly without UTH. Convection is going to deliver your ambient temperature and keeping a even ambient temp in an enclosure can be tough. However, you also need a warm side with its own hide. In that case, I don't think convective heat would be feasible because you would just end up heating the whole place up. And, radiant heat won't work for you because the snake is going to be spending all its time shaded by the top of its hide. That leaves UTH and pretty much makes it essential in my mind. I use a both a heat lamp and a very small UTH to heat the cool side and keep up the overall ambient temperate in the cage.

I voted for UTH, because it is what I am using at the moment for both my snakes on a thermostat. When I had one snake and no thermostat both worked fine for me, maybe even a little more consistent. My thermostat gets cooler than I would like sometimes (its dropped down to 88 on warm side for my BP), and its a little frustrating because not much I can do when I have it turned up to be about 5 degrees higher than it is. But it all works out. My BP has been more active this week since I added the thermostat, which had me worried he might be stressed, but he still ate good so I guess hes fine just more energetic. He downed his meal, which was probably a little smaller than his past 2, in about 5 minutes.

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Originally Posted by hardball

I voted for UTH, because it is what I am using at the moment for both my snakes on a thermostat. When I had one snake and no thermostat both worked fine for me, maybe even a little more consistent. My thermostat gets cooler than I would like sometimes (its dropped down to 88 on warm side for my BP), and its a little frustrating because not much I can do when I have it turned up to be about 5 degrees higher than it is. But it all works out. My BP has been more active this week since I added the thermostat, which had me worried he might be stressed, but he still ate good so I guess hes fine just more energetic. He downed his meal, which was probably a little smaller than his past 2, in about 5 minutes.

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I don't have any experience with reptile t-stats but I do have a good understanding of the basic principle.

[long winded technical nerd-out follows:]
They are what is referred to as a "negative feedback control system" (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_feedback for more). Actually, the basic idea is quite easy to understand. But, don't be fooled, the control comes with a price. Here's a good analogy: You can apply a brute one-way force to something with your body (say a wrench) and while it is ultimately the easiest thing to do, any sudden slippage will most likely mean some bleeding knuckles. What do you do in that case? You push on the wrench even harder while also tensing your muscles to apply a force in the opposite direction. You are ready and, when the wrench slips, the effect is minimized and you avoid the bleeding knuckles. Sounds like a win-win right? It is as long as the counter force holds. If, for some bizarre reason, the muscle providing the back-pressure on your grip was to suddenly give out or detach from the bone, you would actually bust your knuckes much much harder than before. Likewise, if you were exhausted or drunk or otherwise in a state where your reaction times were too low, your grip on the wrench would tend to shake alot. Even in a healthy state, anyone can replicate this effect by holding their arm out and flexing all the muscles as hard as they can. Their arm will begin to vibrate.

So, to finish the analogy:
1) Brute one-way forced grip equals no t-stat or rheostat.
2) Extra "tensed-up" grip equal t-stat
3) Muscle failure or insufficient reaction times illustrate what can happen when the feedback loop (temperate probe) is not working correctly.
[end of long winded nerd-out session!]

So this isn't meant to be an argument against t-stats but instead some information to help get the most out of them. The basic idea here is that the feedback loop is everything. If your probe fails you may get overheating but a good t-stat is most likely protected. If your probe is not actually close to the heat source then you will get an always-on state - this too may be detected by quality circuits. And, finally, if the temperature responds at the probe but takes too long to do so, your temps may fluctuate back and forth (oscillate). Temperatures may also fluctuate if the probes temperature is "jostled" by things unrelated to the output of the UTH - such as air currents.

To summarize - To get the most out of a t-stat, you want a secure, tight, and noise-free feedback loop. This means the probe can't be moved inadvertantly, is close to the heat source, and is protected from spurious influences like air currents.

[really really end of long winded nerd-out session I promise!]

Once again, let me qualify all of this by saying it is pure theory and doesn't represent any actual experience with particular reptile thermostats. If you're having some trouble, the understanding may help you though.

Cages with thick substrate - Radiant heat panels

Tubs or thin substrate - UTH

Decade old post

Sorry! Didn't read through so didn't realize it was an old post :rolleyes:

i prefer belly heat.

i like the contact heat where it's convenient for my BP's. some racks and enclosures use back heat but i don't want my BP's scrunched up against a side wall trying to warm up. i would rather them lay causally over their heat source.