Quote Originally Posted by Royal-y__Great
um, it was mentioned that you NEED belly heat, i dont agree

ive had my bp for about a year, and ive always used an overhead heating source, and he is healthy, and fine, so i dont belive that they NEED belly heat
They do need belly heat. It doesn't have to be provided through an under-enclosure source, but that is the easiest way to do it. Heat is required for digestion, and it needs to be above a minimum level for them to be able to do the speedy digestion required before the food starts to decompose within their gut (causing gas, bloating, sometimes regurgitation, and sometimes long-term digestive difficulties).

If you've ever sat on a warm rock in the sun, you know that after a short time, the rock surface temp drops to your temperature as you soak up the heat. This is why providing heat from underneath, rather than a radiant source, is the easiest way to provide a constant temp high enough to facilitate digestion.

Can they digest while being heated with a lamp or CHE? Sure, but it may be less efficient (possibly causing decomposition-related problems noted above) or require more frequent moving in order to thermoregulate (possibly leading to regurgitation). I go for the simple way, myself, rather than dealing with those potential problems, but there are others who successfully keep bp's using just heat lamps or CHEs.