Rack Heating

[PimpSkinny]

Sup peeps? My bp collection will be growing from 2 to 5 in about a month and a half. I am running short on room so I am going to retire the glass tanks and buy a five or six tub rack in about a week or two. My question is.....what are the pros and cons of back heat vs belly heat. My glass tanks have uth's and my bps are doing fine, but back heat sounds interesting. Does anybody out there use back heat? Do you like it? Hate it? Your input and opinions would be great. BTW, tried to search but got pictures of belly and backs. Got frustrated and posted thread. Please forgive.

[rabernet]

I prefer belly heat. Heat rises, it doesn't travel horizontally as well.

[lillyorchid]

Robin you beat me to this!

[muddoc]

I use back heat on all of my hatchling racks. I have not had a problem with it yet, two years and counting. I have not had any problems with regurges or digestion. Most of my hatchlings get two small meals per week. Also, even though my hatchling boxes are small about 7 inches wide by 13 inches deep, I still get a great thermal gradient, 83 cool end and 90 on the hot side. I like for my hatchlings. I will say that all of my adult racks have belly heat, and I think it works great as well. So long as the gradient is there, I don't think it really matters. In the wild, in a burrow, all that is present is ambient temp, and they seem to do fine. I do however realize that they can go seek a hot rock or other source of belly heat in the wild, but I have a hard time believing that a ball python just sits on a hot spot digesting a meal without worrying about predators. Just my two cents.

[rabernet]

You make good points that I hadn't considered before Tim!

[PimpSkinny]

I guess Ill stick with the belly heat for now. I'm already used to it and my bps. Maybe down the road I'll give back heat a shot. At least I now know that it doesn't cause major problems. Thanks a lot.