Back Heat or Belly Heat

Which do you guys use for your racks back heat or belly heat?

Belly heat for adult racks, back heat for hatchling racks for me.

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Originally Posted by Nick

Which do you guys use for your racks back heat or belly heat?

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Belly heat will be more efficient, especially if the room where your rack is, is not in the low-mid 80’s

I just got my first rack. it had back heat and I tokk it out and added belly heat.

i have heard back heat works just the same, just not on their belly

currently i use belly heat but will use back on my hatchling rack

I just purchased a RBI rack with back heat. This is copied off of his FAQ section on Racks:

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 STC 410 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. To help give your animals a more even heat and a larger basking area we use two independently wired strips of three inch heat tape (80 watts each) placed about 6 inches in from the back. NO HEAT CABLE is used, only flexwatt heat tape. The heat tape is recessed into the shelves for years of maintenance free use.

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Originally Posted by Pwilliams58

Belly heat for adult racks, back heat for hatchling racks for me.

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I have the same. My arboreal rack also has back heat.

I have a rack with back heat (11" 20 watt flexwatt) and I must keep the room temperature at no less than 74 degrees.This necessitates me using an electric space heater in the reptile room in the winter. Belly heat is more expensive to purchase but if you live where the winter is mild, belly heat isn't necessary. I will consider belly heat the next time that I buy a rack.

I use back heat on my hatchling corn rack and it works fine for them since they don't have as stringent of heat requirements but for my RBI ball rack I got belly heat since the room they are all in stays about 75 degrees year round and I don't believe back heat would really cut it in that environment.

I just ordered mine with back heat since the room is always around 80F. For cooler rooms I would go with belly heat though.

Some of our racks have back heat, some have belly heat. We just make sure the tstats controlling the flexwatt are set to achieve the warm side temps we want for that species in that size tub.

all of my adult racks i use belly heat. my hatchling and sub adult racks i use back heat.

I live in Colorado...and even with a space heater my rooms stay around 77ish. So back heat for anything but the hatchling corn rack I'll be building (In a year or two at this rate) would be ineffective. I may try it with the BP hatchling rack I'll make (much sooner), but I'll be sure to have the means to switch to belly heat if it doesn't work out.

Basically, it's all about your room temps, budget (back heat is often much cheaper), and preferences. :)

Belly heat here. But a properly setup back heat can be very effective also.

Belly Heat. as i have winters below zero for weeks at a time. I also use space heater to keep room 79-81.

Achieved with 4" flexwatt

I live in central Florida (Tampa area) and like belly heat. Just seems slightly better even if you don't have really cold winters.

Back heat is certainly good, but I think that belly heat is just a bit better for most applications.

I am about to swith my melamine rack to a hatchling rack and will probably go to back heat just to try it.

I have back heat ! I live in the Chicagoland are and have my rooms around 68 to 70 and have no trouble keeping the heat up on them ! The back of my rack is also all closed in which might be way i have no probs with my temps :)

I was reading some of your post ! Guys lets think about this back or belly heat will keep them at the temp you need if the room is 60 the stat will keep the tub where you need them at the hot end ! Room temps really don't matter from what your tub temps are ! The only difference from back to belly is you have to run your back heat about 10 degrees hotter then belly heat !

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Originally Posted by Haydenphoto

I was reading some of your post ! Guys lets think about this back or belly heat will keep them at the temp you need if the room is 60 the stat will keep the tub where you need them at the hot end ! Room temps really don't matter from what your tub temps are ! The only difference from back to belly is you have to run your back heat about 10 degrees hotter then belly heat !

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I'm having a hard time deciphering what you are trying to say. But I'll give it a whirl..........

If you are claiming that you can keep your room at 60 degrees and raise ambient temps upwards of 15 to 20 degrees with either belly or back heat - you are wrong.

I have back heat set to 95 degrees in a rack in our snake building. The hot spot gets to 90 degrees at the back of the tub. At the front, it is the ambient temp of the room (79 to 80 degrees). In other words, back heat does diddly squat for ambient temps.

My belly heat racks are set to 95 degrees and get to 91 to 92 degrees at the hot spot. The warm ambient end is about 83 degrees with the cool end the same exact temperature as the ambient in the room.

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

I'm having a hard time deciphering what you are trying to say. But I'll give it a whirl..........

If you are claiming that you can keep your room at 60 degrees and raise ambient temps upwards of 15 to 20 degrees with either belly or back heat - you are wrong.

I have back heat set to 95 degrees in a rack in our snake building. The hot spot gets to 90 degrees at the back of the tub. At the front, it is the ambient temp of the room (79 to 80 degrees). In other words, back heat does diddly squat for ambient temps.

My belly heat racks are set to 95 degrees and get to 91 to 92 degrees at the hot spot. The warm ambient end is about 83 degrees with the cool end the same exact temperature as the ambient in the room.

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I set my stat to 102 the back of my tub reads 90 the front reads 84 the room stat is set to 68 ! A lot has to do with the way the racks are made and yes i have back heat so to say im wrong is a little off seeing how thats how i have all my racks !

belly heat....period!

heat rises so it's best to use it properly.

Pitoon

I will be ordering an RBI setup this week and I am going with belly heat... It's a little chilly in my house.

I use back heat, but have one belly heat rack by Boaphile for the BIG girls and guys to take turns relaxing when they aren't being bred (gives them a chance to stretch).

I prefer back heat, because if any of my girls happen to lay while I am gone, I don't want them laying eggs on a heat strip regardless of how it's attached to a thermostat, I just don't want to take the risk.

I use back heat for the males too..just so I can keep the tubs interchangable as needed. No one seems to be having a problem being warm or digesting their food.

Here's my logic: ball pythons spend 100% of their life on their bellies, not defying gravity by being pressed up against a wall. Belly heat just makes more sense.
Heat also rises more than it radiates. You lose far too much with back heat.
Back heat is easier and cheaper to run, belly heat is more useful to the snake.

Im about to build my own rack and im going with belly heat.:gj:

While I like the concept of belly heat, the one rack I have with belly heat is a total nuisance, because the drawers kind of stick when going in and out, which makes their water bowls get sloshed. The rest of my racks have back heat, and the snakes that live in them seem to be just as healthy as those that live in the one with belly heat. So, it's back heat for me on any future racks.