Do ball pythons require belly heat?

[OhhWatALoser]

Ball pythons need heat, doesn't matter what direction it comes from, under, over, sideways, doesn't matter. What alot of people do with wooden enclosures is put in a false bottom that is made of material easier to heat through (like plastic). Just need enough room for your heat and temp probe. You can do the same on the back or side if you want. If you go that route just make sure it is sealed well, can't have urine or spilled water bowls running down on the heat or temp probe.

Personally I find rhps easier when it comes to in the enclosure heating, just screw em to the top, poke a probe in from the back of the cage a couple inches down from the rhp and call it good.

[Dumdum333]

i live in london, and the humidity is definitely high enough for a BP, but using a heat lamp does dry out the vivarium so you still need to take care with water bowl placement and stuff, definitely think it's worth investing 5 quid on a digital hygrometer, especially for shedding

[cletus]

Belly heat is just easier for my setups. There are def other ways to do it but it works for me and my snakes.

[SiXandSeven8ths]

Although the precise answer to BP requiring belly heat is no, the short answer would be yes. Sure is the best way to provide the proper heat gradient.

Heat bulbs, CHE (ceramic heat emitting bulbs), and radiant panels work great for basking / arboreal reptiles. For a terrestrial snake that spends most of his time in the hide they provide little thermal gradient as they heat the air, plus all the humidity problem described.

There's plenty of heat pads that are watertight and can go inside the viv, you recognize them because they look like this

You don't know how radiant heat works, do you?

[Aste88]

Well yeah, radiant panel and on a lower amount also bulbs, do heat exposed surfaces and not just air. But if you ever stood in front of a fire will know that as soon as you turn around you don't feel the radiated heat anymore.

Since BP don't spend time basking but hiding they will not benefit much from that, thus speaking only about air heating. As said that's not the case with other reptiles.

[Coluber42]

All heat sources heat the air, inasmuch as the air is in contact with surfaces that are warm. A UTH doesn't heat the air very much because it is covered by substrate and thus insulated, and because it just isn't that warm - it can't be, or else it would be a burn risk. So basically, the total amount of heat it is introducing to the cage is just not very much.

All heat sources also produce radiant heat - but again, it's a function of what the heat source's temperature is, and how wide of an area that is spread out over. A CHE and a radiant heat panel may both have the same wattage and produce the same amount of total heat, but the CHE concentrates it in one place and therefore runs at a much higher temperature. THe RHP spreads it out over a wider area. Both of them also heat the air, because they are in contact with the air and cause convection. The other way they heat the air is that the radiant heat heats the ground and other objects underneath them, which also heats the air. A radiant heat panel is better at spreading the heat around, a CHE is better at concentrating it in one space. But that basically just has to do with their shape and the distribution of their heating elements.

By the way, if you stuck a UTH on the ceiling, that would be basically the exact same thing as a very skinny and low-power RHP.

Ball pythons sometimes do bask, BTW. Mine comes out and basks on top of his furniture under the RHP pretty much every evening. It's dark, but there's heat coming down from above. He has warm hides as well, which he uses, but he still comes out and basks under the RHP most evenings.

Basically though, it only matters that the snake has an appropriate temperature range to choose from; it doesn't matter how you provide that.

[Zincubus]

It's all a mystery to be to be fair .

Years ago I thought that I'd add a little heat to the cold end of my big Boa Viv and I stuck a huge heatmat on the end side/ panel just thinking it would help a little . Even on max heat output it made no difference . I just presumed the heat left the pad and went straight up into the roof of the Viv as it appeared to make zero difference to any of the cool end temps .


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Charles8088]

Without the need to start a whole new thread, I have a very simple question....

Are the kingsnakes the same in regards to belly heat? They do not need belly heat as long as the ambient temps are high enough and correct? Specifically thinking of a Mexican Black Kingsnake.

[Slither Seeker]

that is what I have created and it works really well. you can heat with an UTH but you need to contain the heat with the enclosure, probably insulate, but all without overheating the mat. I protect the probe from urates and water spills by placing it under a glass panel. if you are interested in making one of these I can provide details.

I have a Glass Tank with an UTH. Wood helps insulate so your UTH would be insulated to keep heat out. What about adding a sheet of glass or acrylic into the enclosure on the bottom under the substrate. Then you could have a UTH under the glass and above the wood. The wood underneath would then keep the heat inside the enclosure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Charles8088]

But, what I'm asking is this... this thread and many others have convinced me that I don't need to set up belly heat for my ball, as long as the ambient temps are correct, correct gradients, etc.

Do they require belly heat? No.

First off, no they do not require belly heat but it is the easiest way.

No BPs don't need belly heat. They will do fine with an ambient temp of mid to high 80s as long as you have a cool spot in the low 80s they can get to as well.

That CHE will work assuming you get a warm side of around mid to high 80s and a cool side of high 70s to low 80.

So, when I get my T8, I am gong to have the divider in there, with a ball on one side and a different species in the other. The other will probably be a Mexican Black Kingsnake, but not completely sure. More than likely, a colubrid of some sort. So, if I don't get the undertank heat, will that be fine for both? I don't mind spending the money to get it set up right. But, rather not if its a necessity that's not really a necessity.