alternative heating (Not UTH)

My three year old ball python was recently "singed" slightly. some pinkness on her bell but nothing too terrible. This incident has caused me to not trust UTH. What are some alternative options to heat the warm side of a boa or ball python tank?

The UTH is not the issue, it was your lack of a thermostat that allowed the UTH to get too hot. Any heat source you use will require a thermostat to control the amount of heat it delivers to your enclosure.

To answer your question though, for a tank setup, If you don't want UTH, I think you're limited to bulbs or CHE.


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You need a thermostat OR if you already have one, you need a better one. Any heating option is risking burns without one. Hydrofarm jumpstart thermostats are under $30 and decent (this is an on/off thermostat), herpstats are expensive and excellent (this is a proportional thermostat). I'm very glad that your snake wasn't hurt too much and you've immediately started looking into ways to keep her safe.

You can keep them at ambient temp which would require you to keep your room in the mid 80's, that would make your electricity bill go way up and for 2 animals it's just not worth it.

You can use a heat lamp as well, however it will dry out your enclosure and most of the heat will be lost.


UTH are fine when used with a RELIABLE thermostat, ten of thousands of snakes in the country are maintain that way successfully with belly heat with no issue.

Burns are preventable if you provide the proper setup and use a reliable thermostat, I have kept hundreds of animals over the years with ZERO burns, if I can do it anyone can.

What happen to your snake was preventable it's not an UTH issue it's a setup issue, thermostat are not an option with any heating element.

thank you all for your input. Could you guys post some links to good thermostats? Maybe some with different pricing like some cheaper ones and then some more pricy ones. thanks!

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Originally Posted by dylan815

thank you all for your input. Could you guys post some links to good thermostats? Maybe some with different pricing like some cheaper ones and then some more pricy ones. thanks!

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i gave you a link to a $30 thermostat in your other thread

high-end: Herpstat Intro+

Your best choices re Herpstat intro + or Herpstat 1 not only those are very reliable and will last for years (I have been running some of mine for over a decade now) but they also have security features. http://www.spyderrobotics.com/index....=index&cPath=1

Cheap thermostat are just that they will fluctuate and usually fail anywhere between 1 to 3 years if lucky and many fail wide open.

It really is just two categories - cheap thermostats and pricy ones, no range in between. This is because the cheap ones just turn the heating source on or off when it reaches the desired temp or drops too much below it while the expensive ones actually ramp the power up and down to keep the temperature consistent. The hydrofarm jumpstart one is generally considered the best in the class of cheap (taylorr provided you a link to this one) while most people prefer the herpstat in the expensive class (both Deborah and Taylorr provided you a link to this). The expensive one is legitimately way, way better. There are some similarly priced thermostats to the herpstats that are also considered good, eg. vivarium electronics' http://www.vivariumelectronics.com/Products.html

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Originally Posted by Kcl

It really is just two categories - cheap thermostats and pricy ones, no range in between. This is because the cheap ones just turn the heating source on or off when it reaches the desired temp or drops too much below it while the expensive ones actually ramp the power up and down to keep the temperature consistent. The hydrofarm jumpstart one is generally considered the best in the class of cheap (taylorr provided you a link to this one) while most people prefer the herpstat in the expensive class (both Deborah and Taylorr provided you a link to this). The expensive one is legitimately way, way better. There are some similarly priced thermostats to the herpstats that are also considered good, eg. vivarium electronics' http://www.vivariumelectronics.com/Products.html

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I have just ordered two herpstats with two day shipping. In the mean time i have a heatlamp on the ball python and the boa. thank you all for your amazing help and for educating me.

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Originally Posted by dylan815

I have just ordered two herpstats with two day shipping. In the mean time i have a heatlamp on the ball python and the boa. thank you all for your amazing help and for educating me.

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you're going to love the Herpstats. i couldn't believe i lasted over two years with a cheap thermostat once i upgraded. keep us updated!!! :gj:

yes, thanks! i sure will.

Any heating method will still require a thermostat.

A vet visit for a burned snake will set you back $200-300. A thermostat is $40-50. You do the math.

My new thermostats have arrived and I have set them up. I love them and they work great! I build little custom wooden boxes for them. Thanks for everyone's info!


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