"Interesting" light positioning

[zina10]

I guess I'm in the camp of "very paranoid" about reptile burns. I've seen enough severe injuries in snakes due to burns to last me a life time. Just during the years I did rescue, plus everything you see on social media and forums.

You cannot compare reptiles to humans when it comes to burns. We have a reflex to pull our hand/foot/whatever away immediately when something is even slightly uncomfortably hot. Reptiles do not possess this reflex. They can fall asleep on a hot object and burn before they realize it or feel the pain.

If we touch something hot for 5 seconds it may give us 1st degree burns. Touch the same item for 30 seconds, same heat, you may end up with second degree burns. And so on..

There is a great article out there, I will copy some highlights and link to the rest. There are many more like it.

"Thermal burns in reptiles are one of the most common injuries seen by herp veterinarians.The exact reason why reptiles seem so prone to burns is not understood, but something about their behavior makes them more susceptible to this type of injury than any other captive animal.

Because reptiles do everything slowly, it is not uncommon for an animal to get burned, but not actually show signs of the injury for several days. This is especially true for minor, or first-degree burns. This is significant, because burns, even apparently mild injuries, can have severe consequences if not treated properly.

Humans have a withdrawal reflex. When we touch something hot, without any cognizant thought, we automatically and immediately withdraw our hand. Reptiles, however, apparently do not possess this same reflex, and it is not uncommon for them to fall asleep on a hot surface and literally burn their skin off with no reaction.

The extent and severity of a burn is related to several factors. Obviously, the temperature of the heat source plays a significant role. Duration of contact also affects the severity of a burn. Again, touching a stove burner set on “warm” only briefly may result in a minor burn, whereas holding one’s hand on the same burner for several minutes may result in much more severe tissue damage. This is, perhaps, why we see such intense damage in reptiles that have fallen asleep on what seems like only a mildly hot heating element

Lastly, the heat conductance characteristics of the material being touched also plays a role in the severity of a burn. For instance, touching a hot piece of metal would cause a more severe burn than touching a piece of wood at the same temperature.

The reason why reptiles are so prone to burn injuries remains a mystery, but understanding the causes of burns and the mechanics of tissue injury will help prevent such occurrences, and, in the unfortunate event that they do happen, better manage their care.

The most important take-home message here is that when dealing with burns in reptile patients, be diligent, be clean, and, above all, be patient!"


Here is the link to the full article:

http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/The-...s-in-Reptiles/



So yes, I'm paranoid when it comes to burns. Often you don't even actually see the damage until some time later and it quickly can turn into a bad mess as the tissue dies off and sloughs off. At which point you fight a high chance of infection during the long process of healing.

Nowadays there is simply no reason to have any heating elements in a snake/reptiles cage that aren't regulated by a thermostat or placed OUTSIDE of the enclosure. Having Bulbs inside an enclosure is never a good idea. While there are many bulbs that do not get to all that hot, the metal base often does get very hot. Hot enough to burn human skin if we touched it longer then a couple of seconds.

my 2 pennies