Ball Python Rack With Back Heat???

[JustinAskin]

So I got a snack rack from a builder in Calgary Alberta. It was a really great deal and since I am just getting into Ball Pythons it is a really good start. It's a 4 bin rack 28qt bins with bid dividers. Allowing me to put two snacks in one bin.

It has 11" heat tape in the back (it's not belly heat). It is controlled by a VE-100 which seems to work quite well.

For those of you that have back heat, what do you normally have the keep the thermostats set at to keep it around 90 in the tub.?


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[kitedemon]

It is going to be very dependent on the room temps. I don't use it myself but a friend does he is in a regulated 80 degree room and has the back heat set to 92 it is 92 at the very back of the tub and drops to 90 a few inches from the back.


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[Mrl249]

Any pros/cons about back heat from anyone who has experience with it?

[dillan2020]

I have a 12 tub rack with back heat also 11" flexwatt and i have to keep the thermostat at 98 to keep the back of the tub at 90.

[JustinAskin]

One of the cons is that it's not a direct heat like belly. One of the pros is that it's a little bit cheaper.


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[Mrl249]

I have a 12 tub rack with back heat also 11" flexwatt and i have to keep the thermostat at 98 to keep the back of the tub at 90.

What kind of thermostat are you using ?!?!?

[JustinAskin]

Just a VE-100. Works well and seems to keep my temps fairly constant.


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1.0 - Pastel, Het Orange Ghost / Ball Python
0.1 - Pastel, Het Orange Ghost / Ball Python

0.1 - German Shepherd (Kahlua)

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1.1.0 Dendrobates Auratus "El Cope"

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[satomi325]

I've used back heat in the past and currently use belly heat.

Depending on how warm and stable your room temperature is, belly heat is usually safer.
I used back heat for some time. And it worked great. It kept a nice temperature gradient and had my temps perfect. But my room never ran above 70-75. Since back heat affects ambient temp and air temp, the flexwatt ran at 115-120 degrees just to maintain the perfect temps. I was uncomfortable with the high temperature it was putting out, so I changed to belly heat. Flexwatt shouldn't run above 100. It starts becoming potentially dangerous after that point. With belly heat and the same exact room temperature, my flexwatt now runs in the high 90s to maintain the same exact tub temps.

[sharkrocket]

We just got our first rack with back heating. Here are some things to know:

1. For us, and others I have read about, the back heating simply could not keep up when the temperature of the room dropped below 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, I have my first space heater I have ever had to purchase simply for the snake room. Joy!

2. I do like the back heating because it gives a really nice temperature gradient. Instead of having heat directly over the belly flexwatt, you get a very hot back, radiating nicely to a dropoff in the front. I have to imagine that it's easier for my snakes to regulate their body temperature that way.

3. I think it's more energy efficient? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think having a strip down the back would be more effective than having a strip at every level.

Just watch your ambient room temperatures, because you might find that the hot spot temperature will just keep falling and falling and never recover if the ambient temperature in the room gets below 75 degrees or so!