Quote Originally Posted by Goodwin View Post
IMO you people are arguing over nothing!!!...LOL....think about what you are saying!! If your snake is in your tub, and you shoot a tempgun at your snakes stomach....temp reads, lets say, hmmm 91 degrees....what matters if it was heated to 91 degrees by belly heat or by back heat? THE TEMP IS STILL 91 DEGREES!! What I am getting at is that according to the setup you have, back heat is just as effective, just as efficient, as belly heat. I dont think belly heat helps with digestion (IMO) any differently that back heat helps with digestion. 91 degrees is 91 degrees NO MATTER what direction it comes from!! Its like this...which is heavier a ton of feathers or a ton of bricks?? NEITHER...its still a ton!!
belly heat 100% helps with snake digestion do some research on there digestive system this is the whole reason why snakes will seek a heat source after eating. or if you have ever seen a local reptile laying on a stone after night fall. they are taking advantage of the belly heat the stone is retaining. thats why UTH and flexwatt are so widely used under the enclosure because back heat is MUCH easier to keep ambient temps up. Some will use both as well.

as for belly temps from back heat. you could be 100% correct they could achieve desired temperature from it and they usually do. but there is also the possibility of a bad setup where the bottom of the tub becomes a source of heat loss in which case belly temp wouldn't be the same as the ambient or back temp. there are allot of dynamics to take into factor, it can sway either way.