Heat Rocks

So...i know that you should NEVER use these, but not everybody knows that. My friend heard about me setting up another enclosure (which is already done, but oh well), and she bought me a heat rock. Well, no receipt, so i can't return it, but im never going to use it. I decided to play with it though. I put it in a tub like my snakes have, and checked the temperatures every half an hour. it got up to 112! On the first day!
Now, no way im going to use it...ever...i just wanted to see how hot they actually hot. We'll see if it gets any hotter than that though.

Just decided to fill you all in on my little experiment.

Cut the cord and use it as a decoration.. LOL

I knew back when I was 13 that those things were crap. I just used the heating pad instead.

Oh, i've always known those things are horrible, i just have never sceen it first hand.

Yeah, thats what im going to do eventually, just decoration. lol.

I still see people buying em. If i had my own reptile store, I'd never carry them.

ditto

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Originally Posted by Vomitore

I still see people buying em. If i had my own reptile store, I'd never carry them.

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That's cool....I hadn't thought of experimenting with one. Last year, one of my daughter's teachers gave her a heat rock because she knew she had a snake.....I just chunked it in the trash. Mighta been fun to play with though. If I ever get "gifted" with another one, maybe I'll try that.

yeah. im intrested to see the diffrent brands...it is amazing how the temperatures fluctuate with these things. no wonder they are so bad!

are heat rocks a no no witih lizards as well?

can heat rocks be used with a dimmer/thermostat? (just wondering)

I think those should be banned.

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Originally Posted by Kizerk

are heat rocks a no no with lizards too?

can heat rocks be used with a dimmer/thermostat? (just wondering)

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Not too sure about the second question.Heat rocks should not be used with anything.:colbert:

Alot of heat rocks come with their own rheostat. A heat rock still would not allow the snake to warm up without laying on the actual heat, which can cause burns.

Yea I learned the hard way back in the 80's when I had an iguana. Severe belly burn. Died a short time later. Not proud about what happened but a lesson learned.

I'm sure that a dimmer or thermostat would decrease the temperature a ton, but it is so fluctating, from 90-120 that i would never use it. It could be fine one minute, ten you put your snake in, and the next minute it burns them... I dont know about lizards, but i am assuming that if it is not okay for snakes then it is not okay for lizards either.

It would be safe if you used it properly with a thermostat. One store here swears by them because 2 staff members had FIRES with UTHs and animals died. However they are not adequate primary heat sources for snakes. You could use one as a hot spot in a heated room or with a lamp, but as far as I know they do not warm the air at all. Also they do not come big enough to warm an adult ball. I saw two RTBs trying to share a heat rock once -it was very sad.

I do not know if they could be used for other reptiles. I heard people say that the picture of a beardie on the packaging was very misleading because they should not be used with those animals.

Think of it this way: You are in Antarctica and trying to stay warm by heating yourself with a small 1ftx 1ft heating pad. Sure, it may keep part of your body warmish and not frostbitten, but the rest of your body is subjected to the extreme temps of this place you are in. Not to mention, it's not heating any of the air surrounding you, so you're breathing in frosty air that can damage your lungs.

Same with heating enclosures with heat rocks. It doesn't work. Snakes don't realize when they are being burned, some have even been cooked alive on these stupid things. Snakes and other reptiles don't have the fast heat sensing receptors like we do(burn your finger with hot water and you flinch). They only have the slow receptors. So what they may feel as slightly warm and getting a bit warmer, what they are really feeling is 120 degrees and their belly cooking because they can't feel it.

A heated room and flexwatt on high quality thermostats is all I am willing to use to keep my snakes happy. Anything else just has a big range for error.

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Originally Posted by itzazoo

Yea I learned the hard way back in the 80's when I had an iguana. Severe belly burn. Died a short time later. Not proud about what happened but a lesson learned.

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Same thing happened to me.. it was a sad experience. I would never recommend one of them to anyone; their uneven surface makes for, well, uneven heat that can cause spot burns.

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Originally Posted by Sadie

It would be safe if you used it properly with a thermostat. One store here swears by them because 2 staff members had FIRES with UTHs and animals died.

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Do you have any more info on the fires caused by the UTHs? This seriously is one of my biggst fears in my life, that this would happen; were they using tanks, racks, or tubs without racks?

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Snakes and other reptiles don't have the fast heat sensing receptors like we do(burn your finger with hot water and you flinch). They only have the slow receptors. So what they may feel as slightly warm and getting a bit warmer, what they are really feeling is 120 degrees and their belly cooking because they can't feel it.

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While I'm all for banning heat rocks, the thing I find interesting about this is that while snakes can't feel themselves getting burned, they obviously are very sensitive to touch - run your finger very lightly down their belly and they suck in the belly, a reaction I would (most likely foolishly) equate to "ticklish".

Regardless of whether it's ticklish or just snake instinct of "I don't want that touching me", they obviously have very keen senses/nerves for that and a quick reaction time.

Physically, is the "heat sense" and "touch sense" different and/or processed by different areas of the snake brain? Anyone got any references to research done on snake senses reaction time, etc.?

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Originally Posted by JLC

I just chunked it in the trash.

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Lol, I would have done the same thing. :D

I can't say for snakes but for HUMANS the sensory nerves are different for heat (thermal) and for touch (mechanical). Something about reflexes going to the spinal cord (faster) versus impulses to the brain (slower). Obviously we can feel heat as pain, but maybe snakes can't. But when you think about it, when would a snake in the wild ever have to worry about burning it's belly on a 120 degree rock?

About the fires...I don't have any other info for you. :( It was very depressing for me to realize that there no clearly right (or safe) choice in the heating debate. However I doubt that these people were using thermostats to control the UTH. So using one gives me some sense of security. Also following package directions- not placing the tank on carpet or other flammable surface, not using it to heat non-glass material.