Do ball pythons require belly heat?

[Fritzl]

Hi all
I am currently in the process of buying everything i need for a baby ball python i am hoping to get at the end of the month. I have a wooden vivarium 24" to put him in.
However, i have done some research and nearly everything recommends i use a heat mat or rock as ball pythons require belly heat. My pet shop refuses to sell me a heat mat saying that its a fire hazard and suggest just a heat bulb and insist that this is adequate. Is this true or should i buy a heatmat from elsewhere. Any advice is appreciated, thanks in advance. Cheers, Rob

[predatorkeeper87]

Do they require belly heat? No.

Is it generally easier in a non-rack setup if the room has an colder ambient temp? Yes.

Heat mats are ok IF you have them regulated with a thermostat or at the very least a dimmer. Your pet store is half correct I suppose, they are a hazard if you don't regulate them, but they are far better than a heat bulb in my opinion.

I use heat mats temporarily right now until my rack system shows up, they are on a herpstat 2 thermostat and they work pretty well.

You may want to consider a ceramic heat emitter if the room you are keeping the snake in is colder, this will help you keep your ambient temps up around 80 and they emit no visible light. This will need to be on a dimmer switch however so you can dial in the ambient temps.

[PitOnTheProwl]

First off, no they do not require belly heat but it is the easiest way.
Second, heat rocks are a NO so I don't know where you gathered that but find a new source.
Sounds like your pet shop that refuses to sell you a heat mat is full of idiots. Take your money somewhere else. I they really wanted your money they would sell you a mat plus a thermostat as both are needed and work together.

Now about your housing. All wood? You are not really going to get heat to transfer through the floor to well. You are probably going to have to go with either overhead lighting or radiant heat panel.

[Fritzl]

Thanks you both for the quick response. Try yourself and type in google "Do ball pythons require belly heat" the short answer is yes.
Thanks for clearing up the heat rock business too.
I have a 75w ceramic heat bulb with gaurd on the roof of the inside and this is the only heat source i have on a £60 Habistat B1 microclimate thermostat and the reviews are good. So this is adequate? I dont want to collect the animal untill i know he has a perfect habitat to go in. I want to do everything right so any other useful tips will be so much appreciated i have bought a ball python care book. Also one more thing, do i need any supplements for the ball python like vitamins calcium etc? Cheers

[Sauzo]

Run, don't walk away from that pet shop lol. I use flexwatt for all my cages as the only heat source and they are fine. You do need to run them on t-stats though as without one, they can potentially be a fire hazard as most can get really hot and if you use cage stacks with no air gap, that can easily overheat with no t-stat.

No BPs don't need belly heat. They will do fine with an ambient temp of mid to high 80s as long as you have a cool spot in the low 80s they can get to as well.

Heat rocks are the devil and you should run from those too. Like mentioned, since you have a wooden viv, belly heat isn't going to work well for you unless you use a Kane heat mat which are made to go inside the cage but still need a t-stat. You can use a RHP or CHE but I would personally use a RHP over the CHE. Much safer.

Heat bulbs if they mean by light throwing bulb will sap the humidity out of the cage and at night, you will be stuck with no heat as you cant leave the light on 24/7. If they mean CHE as heat bulb, those will work assuming you have a hole in the top of the cage and got screening betweem the bulb and cage as those get like 500F and will instantly kill your snake if it touches that thing. You could use a cage around it inside the cage as I guess a lot EU guys do that but I wouldn't personally. Anything that hot, I wouldn't want inside my cage at all.

[Sauzo]

Thanks you both for the quick response. Try yourself and type in google "Do ball pythons require belly heat" the short answer is yes.
Thanks for clearing up the heat rock business too.
I have a 75w ceramic heat bulb with gaurd on the roof of the inside and this is the only heat source i have on a £60 Habistat B1 microclimate thermostat and the reviews are good. So this is adequate? I dont want to collect the animal untill i know he has a perfect habitat to go in. I want to do everything right so any other useful tips will be so much appreciated i have bought a ball python care book. Also one more thing, do i need any supplements for the ball python like vitamins calcium etc? Cheers

That CHE will work assuming you get a warm side of around mid to high 80s and a cool side of high 70s to low 80.

And no, BPs don't need any supplements like calcium, D3 or UVB. They get their vitamins from whole prey food.

[Craiga 01453]

DEFINITELY stay away from heat rocks!!! I honestly don't even know why stores sell them. And yeah, don't but too much stock into what the pet shop employees are telling you. This forum is full of some extremely well educated and very experienced snake keepers. My advice is to use this forum as a guide and you will be able to provide your new snake with a great new home for many years to come.
Enjoy your snake!!

[Fritzl]

Yeah thanks guys thats why i joined this forum to be better educated by people with a passion and experience. I will take this information and use it. I will be back on here when i have the snake in the setup. I didnt join the forum to ask a couple of questions and then go again i have been informed its a long commitment so im here to stay. I will have some pics on here soon and any criticism/advice would not be taken with offence. Thanks guys.

[Craiga 01453]

Yeah thanks guys thats why i joined this forum to be better educated by people with a passion and experience. I will take this information and use it. I will be back on here when i have the snake in the setup. I didnt join the forum to ask a couple of questions and then go again i have been informed its a long commitment so im here to stay. I will have some pics on here soon and any criticism/advice would not be taken with offence. Thanks guys.

Glad to hear it!!! I just got back into keeping snakes recently after not keeping any for many years. I used this site for research for months before joining and finally just decided to join, because I was on here all the time anyway. It's nice to be able to ask questions specific to your needs and communicate with other people with the same passion for snakes that I have. I honestly learned more since being on this site (probably about 6 months) than I had in my lifetime prior (I'm 38 years old). So I personally am extremely happy and grateful that this site exists and that so many people are willing to share their time, experience and knowledge with what are essentially strangers who share a love for our animals.

[Dumdum333]

so are you guys suggesting that a radiant heat panel would work well inside a wooden vivarium? Would a regular heat mat inside the viv not work equally well?