Quote Originally Posted by kitedemon View Post
You are forcing you BP to choose either security or heat. This is against most (all) methods anyone else uses I have ever known. The hides are always recommended on the hot and cool areas. Everyone I know chooses not force a very secretive animal to violate its instinct. So I will rephrase they do not bask in the wild or naturally it is not an instinctual behaviour they are nocturnal.

Go with the RHP, although I would use Epoxy or LP to seal the floor urinates attack paint and becomes difficult to clean. I would still recommend the PVC floor.

Question as a RHP is just a strip of flexwatt in a box, what is the advantage over flexwatt under the floor? Radiant heat is radiant heat either way it has the exact same properties.
You are correct that radiant heat goes against the industry standard because it is still a very new product and many people still are not using it because of a few factors. (1) the cost is MUCH higher than a heat lamp and bulb.... Initially ,but heat lamps burn out and lose intensity in time. manufacturers recommend changing these bulbs once a year and @ roughly $10.00 ea/100W in 10 years that's $100.00 ( the cost of my panel to start with, plus the initial cost of the lamp itself. We wont even talk about electric savings in a 10 year period when you're talking about 100W VS 88W per hour.(2) Many people do not understand the way radiant heat works and because it cant be measured using standard techniques they automatically assume that the product is not doing what it is supposed to, when in fact it is working just fine!! Using Flexwatt as an UTH is not the same as using RHP. UTH only warms the ground directly on top of its location, therefore leaving the rest of the tanks ambient air too cool. Flexwatt in most applications is used in conjunction with some sort of CHE or heat lamp to warm air temps. If you just warm the ground under the animal and the air temps are not correct you are leaving yourself open to RI's You are very limited to the temps that you can set your UTH at due to the fact that your animal is laying on top of it! RHP mount on the top of the cage and other than the occasional "brush up against" your animal will never come in contact with it and your animal definitely can't lay on it, so the temps can run much higher than a UTH. So you will only need 1 piece of equipment vs 2.Every scientific break through is plagued with its nay Sayers because people are afraid of change and like what they feel comfortable with. I personally use RHP and can tell you without a doubt that they work excellently for my ball Pythons. I don't mean to sound like a jerk but Just because one person doesn't like them doesn't mean the product is junk. I'm sure Zoo-Med will love your continued support over the next 25 years of your animals life, me I'm gonna take my savings and buy some really cool morphs!