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heating?
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by igiveup on December 3, 2007
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im new to this site, and i would like some expert opinions, what method do you think is the best for heating? i know hot rocks are a negative, but ive heard some people bashing heat lamps because it drys out the snake's skin? i have three different snakes (all kings).
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RE: heating?
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by boomslangandrew on December 3, 2007
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heat lamps and heat mats are essential when keeping venomous snakes. the heating also depends on the species eg horned vipers need large amounts of heat and snakes like the european adder only require a low amount of heat.
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RE: heating?
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by LarryDFishel on December 3, 2007
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A snakes's skin is MOSTLY water tight and helps keep the snake itself from drying out, but what he asked about was the lamp drying out the snake's SKIN. The skin will indeed dry out if there is too little humidity in the cage.
What some people are concerned about is that the lamp will dry out the CAGE, which leads to dry skin. Whether this is more of a problem with lamps than with heat pads, I don't know. Either way, makeing sure that the humidity in the cage is at a reasonable level will take care of the problem.
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RE: heating?
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by BobH on December 3, 2007
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I think under the cage heating with only maybe a third of the cage heated is still the best way to go. I used standard drug store heating pads and if I am lucky I can heat 2 or 3 cages with one heating pad. (Fingers crossed) I have never had any problem with them and at one time I was running at least 5 of them 24/7.
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RE: heating?
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by Rob_Carmichael on December 3, 2007
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I would caution folks from using drug store human heat pads. They are not designed to be left on continually. There have been a number of confirmed fires that destroyed both collection and homes due to the use of these pads to heat their animals.
Flex watt heat tape connected to a thermostat works well. In a cold room, however, its hard to get the ambient temps up. So, there are two other good options:
1. Pearlco or ESU ceramic heat emitters. They emit heat but no light and can be screwed into a normal heat lamp fixture. They can be left on continually and should be connected to a thermostat. They come in various wattages and The Bean Farm sells them.
2. The best option, in my opinion, is the Pro Product Radiant Heat Panel. These are attached to the inside roof of the cage and emit heat but no light. They don't get blistering hot so inadvertent contact will not result in a burn. I've been using these heat panels almost exclusively for many years w/out any problems. This is what I would use.
I normally couple these heat devices with a full spectrum fluorescent for a nice light.
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
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RE: heating?
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by earthguy on December 3, 2007
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It all depends...
As previously mentioned radiant heat under a portion of the cage allows the snake to choose it's temperature from the gradient by moving to where it is most comfortable. Heat lamps are fine for basking (just don't create too large a temperature gradient on your glass or it will crack). You might also want to consider natural spectrum lamps for establishing circadian rhythms if you have no natural light in the room (for breeding, brumation, etc.)
Try asking the snakes which they prefer ;)
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