Heat rocks

Ok, so I was watching a video on YouTube of one of the most famous ball breeders. He was talking with some kids about a ball python setup and had the kids put a ball in a big glass enclosure with day and night lights and a heat rock. What does everyone think of this procedure?

Did you listen to him talking about changing the temperatures?
I almost took your hook till I looked into it a little further because I wanted to question this too.

http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/En...D=2&SearchID=1

Evidently some companies are getting smarter and the heat rock has regulation on it.
Still up to the user to check that it is properly set.

Still, it's not on a thermostats as you can't place a probe on them. It's playing with danger. Plus he doesn't plug that particular one. Some kid watches the video, goes to some smaller expo and finds a guy selling a 5 buck used head rock. To me it's still a nightmare waiting to happen. There are enough errors with the cheap thermostats and that's on a rhetrostat. How long until we start hearing about burbs on those rocks? Not just that but a humid hide, which is fine, but with a light on non stop and a screen top do you really think the snake would live a long healthy life like he says?

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Originally Posted by Bcycling

Still, it's not on a thermostats as you can't place a probe on them. It's playing with danger. Plus he doesn't plug that particular one. Some kid watches the video, goes to some smaller expo and finds a guy selling a 5 buck used head rock. To me it's still a nightmare waiting to happen. There are enough errors with the cheap thermostats and that's on a rhetrostat. How long until we start hearing about burbs on those rocks? Not just that but a humid hide, which is fine, but with a light on non stop and a screen top do you really think the snake would live a long healthy life like he says?

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Yes a thermostat is what "we" recommend but a rheostat is also recommended.
You might want to "WATCH" the video again and have a look at 5.02 and you would see the rheostat.
You are also past the point of hearing about burns. I have been dealing with them here for half a decade.
Also dealing with people that don't know how to set up any thermostat.
Its not that hard to set up regulated heat, too many people try to over complicate it.

Ok I watched it again. At 5:02 the snake is moving around and they are not discussing the heat. Why would he recommend that setup knowing the market is flooded with rocks that will burn snakes. Also, the setup seems off with lights and just a humid hide. I know that rock is regulated but he states to set it on high which would mean all the way up. I am not trying to bash him, actually met the guy on a few occasions and he is a super good guy that will take the time and talk to anyone. Actually talked to my daughter for over 15 minutes once on her breeding plans. I just wonder why he would basically recommend a setup like that. It doesn't seem like ideal environment to me and I wanted to know what other thought of the setup and heat rocks, regulated or not. When I had balls 25 years ago it was what we used, but we learned fast they caused problems and got rid of them. Yes, I produced a few captive clutches from wild caught snakes back then, and have been out of it for a long time, but that set up seems a step back in time.

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Originally Posted by Bcycling

Still, it's not on a thermostats as you can't place a probe on them. It's playing with danger. Plus he doesn't plug that particular one. Some kid watches the video, goes to some smaller expo and finds a guy selling a 5 buck used head rock. To me it's still a nightmare waiting to happen. There are enough errors with the cheap thermostats and that's on a rhetrostat. How long until we start hearing about burbs on those rocks? Not just that but a humid hide, which is fine, but with a light on non stop and a screen top do you really think the snake would live a long healthy life like he says?

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I've been seeing this more often, especially when ball keepers interact with keepers of other species.

Let's be clear, thermostats are recommended for controlling heat tape in a tub. Precise control is needed because of the contained environment. At the best case, a poorly regulated heat tape will cause the animal to overheat and become ill without a cool spot to escape too. Worst case is the poorly regulated heat tape causes a catastrophic meltdown, destroying the rack, and killing multiple animals.

Using the t-stat for other applications is still a great idea, but it doesn't have the same importance of using it with heat tape in a confined tub. Other applications can use a less reliable rheostat with substantially less risk.

what vid are u guys referring to? i would like to see it.

Sorry I can't link it. I had linked it but was told that it violates terms. People thought I was trying to give the guy a hard time, while in reality I was just trying to understand why he thought that was a good setup. I by no means know it all, but his suggestions just seemed off to me.

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Originally Posted by Ax01

what vid are u guys referring to? i would like to see it.

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I bought several of those reostats and I had problems with them even on low the UTH were way way to hot I was real fast to get rid of those in use and replaced them with Thermostats
Im not bad mouthing a product just telling my experience its a product I can't trust. I could not even hold my hand on the glass it was way to hot.

Sent from my SGH-T999

Realistically, a rheostat is a dimmer and I wouldn't trust a dimmer in any of my terrariums.

Also, there's really no need for the heat rocks since heat tape is an easier and much cheaper choice.


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Originally Posted by Mr. Misha

Realistically, a rheostat is a dimmer and I wouldn't trust a dimmer in any of my terrariums.

Also, there's really no need for the heat rocks since heat tape is an easier and much cheaper choice.


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I agree [emoji106]

Sent from my SGH-T999

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Originally Posted by Mr. Misha

Realistically, a rheostat is a dimmer and I wouldn't trust a dimmer in any of my terrariums.

Also, there's really no need for the heat rocks since heat tape is an easier and much cheaper choice.

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True though not readily available to everyone unless you know about it before you get into reptiles AND keep extra on hand.
Many people only have availability to what their local box stores have and don't know about the companies we order from.

Zilla, Flunkers, and Zoo Med always catch a bad wrap but they were good enough till people get online and others show them easier and better ways. Right?
None of us can deny those companies helped all of us in one way or another get into this hobby.

ok i just watched the vid and Pit's post below sums up the vid, setup and the audience it was intended for nicely. beyond that, i thought it was a neat vid. his presentation, info and tone of voice was spot on. there's many things to nitpick about the enclosure in the vid and other BP stuff (live vs. f/t anyone?).

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Originally Posted by Mr. Misha

Realistically, a rheostat is a dimmer and I wouldn't trust a dimmer in any of my terrariums.

Also, there's really no need for the heat rocks since heat tape is an easier and much cheaper choice.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

True though not readily available to everyone unless you know about it before you get into reptiles AND keep extra on hand.
Many people only have availability to what their local box stores have and don't know about the companies we order from.

Zilla, Flunkers, and Zoo Med always catch a bad wrap but they were good enough till people get online and others show them easier and better ways. Right?
None of us can deny those companies helped all of us in one way or another get into this hobby.

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:gj: that's the truth.

not everyone is into BP's as a hobby. many just have one, maybe two, as a pet and will rely on pet stores and their employees for all gear, food and info. that's where i started, as countless others had. since then i've progressed to a collection to wiring my own flexwatt to planning breeding, etc. etc. i would not have known a lot of this if i had not joined the forum. pet stores still don't sell thermostats but they do sell various heat sources (with attached rheostats or rheostats separately).

I have seen (I think is was ZooMed or Zilla I don't remember) thermostats at most of my local and chain pet stores, so that's something at least. It would be nice to see better products on the shelves. For the most part it seems like reptiles are still considered "throw away" pets, cheap and easy to replace, so most companies want to sell you on expensive, often poorly built, in some cases unnecessary, or down right useless/dangerous equipment. I think if we want to see that reversed, it will take a lot more work to reverse the public image of reptiles.

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Originally Posted by Lizardlicks

I have seen (I think is was ZooMed or Zilla I don't remember) thermostats at most of my local and chain pet stores, so that's something at least. It would be nice to see better products on the shelves. For the most part it seems like reptiles are still considered "throw away" pets, cheap and easy to replace, so most companies want to sell you on expensive, often poorly built, in some cases unnecessary, or down right useless/dangerous equipment. I think if we want to see that reversed, it will take a lot more work to reverse the public image of reptiles.

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I also have seen that particular thermostat sold at Petco, not sure if Petsmart sells one or not. I read also in the product manual (pdf) that the rocks are designed for use in glass terrarium's only. All other enclosures including plastic, woood, cage's void the warranty. Totally agree with Lizardlicks here. I have seen people change their minds about snakes ( which is the reptile most disliked ) but it is very rare. Most people have their minds made up and don't change it no matter how much you try to reason with them. My wife is one of them.

How he's setting up that tank is no different then the way most pet store will tell you. I personally would never set up my ball pythons that way, there are better and easier ways to do it, but that way will work. Remember there are many ways to success as long as you are observant and watch how your snake reacts.

As far as the heat rock. I personally can't stand those things, not because of the amount of heat they put out when unregulated but because you're putting an electrical cord inside the tank with the snake. Face it, ANY unregulated heat source can burn your snake whether it's a hot rock or a heat mat, or a heat cable, or a heating pad, or a heating strip, or a ceramic heat emitter, or a light bulb. Heating sources should ALWAYS be regulated in some fashion. I've used dimmer switches (rheostats) for over 30 years without any troubles, you just have to follow a few basic common sense rules. Yes thermostats are better, but mainly because they're more idiot proof. I like them because I don't have to think about them as much, but I STILL have racks controlled with dimmer switches.