HEAT: Lamp vs UTH. Which is better? And are human heating pads ok?

[O'Mathghamhna]

From what I've been reading, UTH are best for BPs. I have a nocturnal lamp over my snakies right now, and one of them prefers the UTH while the other prefers the lamp. Should I ditch the lamps and just stick to UTHs? And I've also heard you should only use heating pads made specifically for reptiles, not human heating pads (which are a lot more expensive). Any theories, or is that just a money making scheme from the reptile companies?

Thanks in advance, everyone!

[Eric Alan]

What BPs prefer is proper (also safe/controlled) temperatures. The method of doing so is entirely up to you and what you find most convenient. There are so many options because what works for you may not work for me - it's not because the companies expect the same person to buy every available product.

In my case, all of my snakes are in rack systems so UTH works best for me.

Finally, I'd steer well clear of human heating pads. They are intended to reach temperatures WAY above what is considered safe for BPs, aren't designed to work in the location where you'd need to put it, and just aren't all-around practical for use in this hobby.

[redshepherd]

I just wanted to add that human heating pads were made to get very very hot, so it's not a marketing scheme.

Snakes don't need a hot spot of more than 90~95, which pretty much barely feels warm at all to human touch.

Reptile heat pads or heat tape are also rather cheap to begin with: http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultrath...ater-uth-6-x11

[PitOnTheProwl]

Everything has a purpose.

UTH (pads, mats, flex and THG) for belly heat and back heat in racks. Needs a thermostat or rheostat to regulate.

Lighting can create a hot spot but also warms ambient temperatures better. Can also dry out humidity

Human pads........... start with "HUMAN" and then remember most of them turn off after an hour or two of use.

[O'Mathghamhna]

You guys rock, thank you!

[FranklinMorphs]

On the human heating pad point, for people like me that really like numbers, 11" flexwatt is 20watts per foot; and a 9x12 human heating pad is around 55-70watts on high.

To put this in terms of heat. 1BTU/hr is 0.3W therefore flexxwatt 11" is putting out right about 70BTU/hr if run constantly. A human heating pad will easily crank out more than 200BTU/hr. One BTU equals 1degree F increase in 1lb of water. One BTU/hr means it would take one hour to raise the temperature of 1lb of water by one degree. 60BTUs would raise 1lb of water 1 degree in 1 minute. 200BTUs would raise the 1lb of water by over 3 degrees in one minute.

Now, we're not heating water, we're heating air, plastic tubs and substrate, so that temperature change will be more drastic. All of this equals to burned snakes unless you want to use resistance and a thermocouple/thermostat to control the temperature, at which point your cost just went up again, and you're either going to be wasting heat/electricity in the resistance and power cycling a lot, which is harder on the heating elements.

[M.P.C]

You all know majority of human heating pads have a controller. Built in to adjust temp... They dont just run full power or off like your all making it sound.... But they are not a good alternative becase they do not run constantly and the heat they provide while able to be dialed up or down is very inconsistent

[FranklinMorphs]

You all know majority of human heating pads have a controller. Built in to adjust temp... They dont just run full power or off like your all making it sound.... But they are not a good alternative becase they do not run constantly and the heat they provide while able to be dialed up or down is very inconsistent

From the couple that I opened up, temperature adjustment is done strictly by resistance circuits that are open and closed based on setting. High is typically wide open until the timer kicks in and shuts it off. Not all are the same, obviously.

[redshepherd]

You all know majority of human heating pads have a controller. Built in to adjust temp... They dont just run full power or off like your all making it sound.... But they are not a good alternative becase they do not run constantly and the heat they provide while able to be dialed up or down is very inconsistent

Also that snakes commonly just need heat from 90~95, which feels like room temperature to human skin. Human heating pads, in order to feel even a little warm to humans, must be over 95~100 at least, so usually 95~100 is the minimum setting. It just doesn't work at all for snakes.

[Aercadia]

Also that snakes commonly just need heat from 90~95, which feels like room temperature to human skin.

My husband begs to differ... I am 97% sure he is a cyborg, and he complains if the temp is above 75 because his electronic components begin to sizzle. Whereas, I wear a coat in an 80 degree room if the fan is on, because the "wind" gives me chills.