back heat or under tank heating?

[yaalozu15]

hey all, so im building a rack system and im debating between under tank heating and back heating. either one would be using flexwatt. any advice on which heating style is better? pros and cons of both?

thanks

[seeya205]

Either one will work! Back heat is easier to install and may be cheaper because you may need less heat tape! I prefer belly heat just because I think the snakes like the heat on their belly to help with digestion! It is really a personal choice!

[Vypyrz]

I was just on Reptile Basics website reading their opinion on this exact same question, so I will just quote them.

Reptile Basics Inc.
Rack FAQ's:

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 MCB-S 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.

http://www.reptilebasics.com/rack-faq.html#heat

[yaalozu15]

thanks guys!!! this was a big help, thanks for your response

[snakesRkewl]

The only rack we had with back heat went out the door long ago...