Min. distance of CHE from snake?

[polychromator]

I'm soon to step up a wooden viv; it was previously fitted with an red IR bulb, but I'd actually like to switch it out for a CHE. However, it's not the tallest viv in the world - only 1 1/2 foot tall. The bulb guard was 6 inches tall, but ceramic guards normally sit closer to 8/9 inches.

My snake is at 850g so he won't be likely to do mad climbing, but as it hangs so far he could still get close to the guard if he wanted to - that worries me.

Is there a minimum height that a CHE (or a bulb, for that matter) should be away from the floor of the viv?

I think I'd rather stay away from heat mats inside the viv given how heavy he is, but if that's what everyone would suggest, then I'll go for it!

[SylverTears]

It is not okay to put any heating elements directly inside a Vivarium. With heating pads you need to have them hooked up to a thermostat under the enclosure.

[Alexio]

Could you post some pictures of your inclosure? It is possible to make a poor mans radiant heat panel, but it is a bit more of a hassle.
As for how far away just a che is safe only your temp gun can tell you, but the problem is the snake can always move closer.

[BPGator]

Yeah, you definitely don't want your snake to be able to physically touch the CHE. Those things get insanely hot.


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[polychromator]

Yeah, you definitely don't want your snake to be able to physically touch the CHE. Those things get insanely hot.


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That was my thinking – I never see it done often, so I was generally uncomfortable with the idea (also with an IR bulb, to be honest)! I only ever see them used on the screen tops of glass enclosures, but with the range of guards you see for sale I was wondering if it was anything that people did risk. (That said, with this guy being my first snake I’m not keen on anything that comes with too big a ‘risk’!)

Could you post some pictures of your inclosure? It is possible to make a poor mans radiant heat panel, but it is a bit more of a hassle.
As for how far away just a che is safe only your temp gun can tell you, but the problem is the snake can always move closer.

My snake doesn’t actually arrive until December, so it’s just an empty viv at the minute; I’m trying to decide my options!



(Not the permanent location, obviously! You can see the size of the guard that the previous person had on their IR bulb. Can’t imagine it did much guarding if the snake really was curious…)

The people who had the viv before me had it set up with an IR bulb at one end, and a heat mat as well (inside the wooden viv). They scare me for different reasons; even if it’s correctly stated, I’m worried that my snake would be able to bury down and get burned on the heat mat. To that end – and also to protect them from spillages etc. – I’ve read a lot on people covering them with ceramic tile or slate?

[Alexio]

That's a nice enclosure, does the CHE fit inside that wire guard with the metal fixture? Or is there just an insert at the top of the cage?

[GoingPostal]

A radiant heat panel would be a much safer heating option for that cage.

[polychromator]

Hi! (Sorry for delay in reply, have had a three day internet outage.) There’s a little catch on the cage’s ceiling that holds the bulb attachment, which the guard then sat around – I took down the IR bulb and fixture that was there when I got it, mostly just to give it a good clean.

I’m toying with the idea of using a stated heat mat under a raised glass ‘false bottom’ , which should stop my snake from contacting it or hopefully causing thermal blocking (by keeping that air around it). That’s the only way I can imagine myself being comfortable with putting a mat INSIDE the viv, given that he’s a heavy bodied snake.

I’d still prefer to use bulb-type heat source if it could be done safely, but I don’t believe a CHE could. I know people use IR bulbs in wooden vivs – clearly the previous owner of this viv did – maybe I should just stick with that!?

Wooden vivs, for all that they look nice while holding humidity and heat, seem to be a pain to heat in the first place!

(There aren't, that I've found, any UK suppliers of radiant heat panels, aside from the Habistat Reptile Radiators).

[Alexio]

The only thing i worry with the heat mat is what would happen if the snake spilled water or urinated over the heat pad and it got in between the glass.
Besides red bulbs i believe they also sell black type bulbs that produce heat.

You can also try the CHE with the guard and use a piece of tin foil on the bottom of the inside of the guard and up the sides an inch of two . then take temps of how hot the che is on the sides of the guard. Its hard to say how hot the metal could get.

[Coluber42]

From what I've seen, radiant heat panels are relatively uncommon in the UK, but CHE's inside protective cages like the one you have seem to be common. Guards like that seem to be pretty uncommon in the USA, but RHP's are easy to get. I have no personal experience with CHE's inside those guards, but I have seen them in enough photos of enclosures from the UK (in some cases with the snakes in the picture attempting to climb around on them) that they seem to be a safe solution if done right.

For what it's worth, the benefit of a CHE inside a cage like that instead of in a fixture shining through a hole in the top is that more of the heat will stay inside instead of escaping through that hole and around the rest of the fixture; same with humidity. A radiant heat panel is an efficient heating device because less of the heat it makes escapes the cage than a lamp on a stand resting on top.

So I would do two things. First is, look for some advice from UK people since they're more familiar with that method. Second, put the lamp in the wire guard and turn it on full blast for awhile and see how hot the guard actually gets. If it doesn't burn you, it won't burn your snake. Note that the reason this isn't necessarily true of a UTH that you just touch with your hand is that momentary contact is not the same thing as spending a long period of time sitting on top of something, and your snake can't sit on top of things that are mounted to the ceiling.