Can I get by with just a Radiant heat panel?

[ckuhn003]

Radiant heat panels are great for keeping ambient temps up but they are just not effective enough to provide a hot spot, in my opinion, but that certainly doesn't mean it cant be done.

I'm not sure if I 100% agree with this statement but I'll preface it by saying this is only based on what I've researched and a couple weeks of testing out my new AP enclosure which ONLY has an RHP installed. I have my Thermostat probe hanging 2/3 down the wall on the cool side and I have it set to create the ambient temp I'm looking for. This in turn also creates a nice temp gradient where my warm side surface is the high 80s where I want it to be. It's all about giving yourself enough time to play with the Thermostat temps to get the right numbers in each area of your enclosure.

Two things which jumped out at me while reading some of the OPs posts were the RHP measuring the same size as the lid and raising the temp of the heat pad to maximize the heat that the BP will feel. If your RHP is the size of the lid, you probably won't be able to create a temperature gradient unless your only using it to control your cool side and your Thermostat is right underneath it and your using a heating pad for the hot side.

When using a heating pad (or RHP, etc...), you want the absolute bottom surface where a snake 'may' burrow to be no hotter then the range you need it to be. Don't raise the temp thinking the substrate needs to be at that level. A snake will burrow to find the heat he/she needs.

[Spookychief]

I'm not sure if I 100% agree with this statement but I'll preface it by saying this is only based on what I've researched and a couple weeks of testing out my new AP enclosure which ONLY has an RHP installed. I have my Thermostat probe hanging 2/3 down the wall on the cool side and I have it set to create the ambient temp I'm looking for. This in turn also creates a nice temp gradient where my warm side surface is the high 80s where I want it to be. It's all about giving yourself enough time to play with the Thermostat temps to get the right numbers in each area of your enclosure.

Two things which jumped out at me while reading some of the OPs posts were the RHP measuring the same size as the lid and raising the temp of the heat pad to maximize the heat that the BP will feel. If your RHP is the size of the lid, you probably won't be able to create a temperature gradient unless your only using it to control your cool side and your Thermostat is right underneath it and your using a heating pad for the hot side.

When using a heating pad (or RHP, etc...), you want the absolute bottom surface where a snake 'may' burrow to be no hotter then the range you need it to be. Don't raise the temp thinking the substrate needs to be at that level. A snake will burrow to find the heat he/she needs.

Ya, I agree with this. RHPs are great products and i personally use them in my setups but i just haven't experimented with them as sole heat sources, which is why I mentioned that it was my just my opinion . People have different methods of keeping snakes so it's always good to hear what people have to offer as advice and hear what they have had success with. There's nothing wrong with experimenting a little bit to see what is effective and what isn't. Cool to hear that RHP's are working well as sole heat sources in AP cages and I wonder how effective they are as sole heat sources in glass setups? I just picked up a normal female and shes in a temporary glass setup while i work on building an enclosure for her so maybe I'll mess around with it a bit and see how the RHP performs by itself, maybe i'll learn something new from it. I know the OP also mentioned that they would change out the large RHP for a smaller one to aid in creating that heat gradient.

[larryd23]

I would keep the RHP for ambient temperature and the UTH for belly heat.

As others have said, the sensor for the thermostat goes between the UTH and the glass tank bottom. Using your temp gun, you should measure the temperature directly on the glass tank bottom without any substrate.

Don't worry if the surface temperature above your UTH is lower than 90 degrees after you add substrate. Your BP WILL move the substrate out of the way if he wants more heat.

And you can save some money by not putting down too much substrate. By the time your BP weighs a few hundred grams he'll be pushing around anything and everything that's in his way.

[Zoe]

I would keep the RHP for ambient temperature and the UTH for belly heat.

As others have said, the sensor for the thermostat goes between the UTH and the glass tank bottom. Using your temp gun, you should measure the temperature directly on the glass tank bottom without any substrate.

Don't worry if the surface temperature above your UTH is lower than 90 degrees after you add substrate. Your BP WILL move the substrate out of the way if he wants more heat.

And you can save some money by not putting down too much substrate. By the time your BP weighs a few hundred grams he'll be pushing around anything and everything that's in his way.

Oh he's a young adult, still doesn't move any substrate around for anything. Lazy boy He may also just not know that he needs to dig down for more heat. Not that he's ever had any issues digesting or anything so the status-quo is fine... just a lot of cords for not much heat payoff, I think.

[seercirra]

I've never heard of a burrowing BP. For lots of people the only substrate is a few sheets of newspaper. If your heat mat is so far away from the surface of the substrate that it cannot get it up to ~90f, you need to remove alot of that substrate. A heat mat (in my experience, yours may vary so check) won't get hot enough to burn a snake. If you just plug in the heatmat without a thermostat and let it get as hot as it can get before shooting a temp gun at it, you'll see it reaches a max of about 110f - about 44c. The minimum temp for causing a burn to human skin (after 5-6 hours of contact) is 44c. Snake scales are far more resiliant than human skin, besides, BPs can see heat and they aren't stupid.

If you start mounting substrate on one side to correct the temps, it's going to drive you crazy because your snake doesn't care and will mess it up all the time. I reccomend just a heat lamp on a dimming thermostat to regulate the ambient temp and a heat mat for the warm hide, also on a thermostat. Don't worry about having tonnes of substrate, 3 sheets of newspaper laid flat is fine. The point of substrate is mainly to soak up urine. The amount you need is the amount it takes to soak up a pee.

[redshepherd]

I've never heard of a burrowing BP. For lots of people the only substrate is a few sheets of newspaper. If your heat mat is so far away from the surface of the substrate that it cannot get it up to ~90f, you need to remove alot of that substrate. A heat mat (in my experience, yours may vary so check) won't get hot enough to burn a snake. If you just plug in the heatmat without a thermostat and let it get as hot as it can get before shooting a temp gun at it, you'll see it reaches a max of about 110f - about 44c. The minimum temp for causing a burn to human skin (after 5-6 hours of contact) is 44c. Snake scales are far more resiliant than human skin, besides, BPs can see heat and they aren't stupid.

If you start mounting substrate on one side to correct the temps, it's going to drive you crazy because your snake doesn't care and will mess it up all the time. I reccomend just a heat lamp on a dimming thermostat to regulate the ambient temp and a heat mat for the warm hide, also on a thermostat. Don't worry about having tonnes of substrate, 3 sheets of newspaper laid flat is fine. The point of substrate is mainly to soak up urine. The amount you need is the amount it takes to soak up a pee.

Please never tell anybody to use a heat source without a thermostat lol.

BP's don't "burrow", but they do push aside substrate and will sit at the bottom of the enclosure.

Only Ultratherms get to around 115-120 F max, but some other brands of heat mats get up to 130 F within 10 minutes if not regulated by a thermostat.