Here is the thing about that and it irks me a bit...
Yes, heat pads and heat panels are necessary for a large amount of the people keeping cold blooded animals in temperate climates. I wish this hobby would be more uniform like the other pet care hobbies and stop saying conflicting information simply because someone is lucky enough to live in an environment that matches their pet snake's ideal habitat. An under tank heater and if the house temperature demands it, an above tank emitter or other sort of radiant panel is very necessary and should not be told to someone starting out they are not needed. Temperature and how to achieve it with the equipment in the hobby doesn't change. The only factor that changes is how warm the room that cage is kept in... period.
Something that is a proven in the vast majority of climates to support the healthy growth and vitality of a reptile should never be discouraged when advice to a new user is given. It is far simpler to tell someone get a heat mat/heat tape and CHE/RHP than it is to try and explain the engineering principles of heating a confined space to the exact conditions necessary in the geographic location of your point on the planet. It would be as foolish of me to explain the conditions I keep my snake in in West Tennessee as the gospel truth as it is to assume someone should do the same because they live in Canada or Southern Florida. Instead we offer standards of care that should be endorsed and followed to avoid confusion.
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