The simple side of me just wants to get the circle screen tops and use dome lights for heating. The herper side of me wants to get belly heat. The pocketbook doesn't want to get thermostats along with the belly heat and pay the electric bill!



So here we go...is the belly heat with the thermostat *that* much better?



In my opinion belly heat is worse, especially for heavy bodied snakes in a cool room. The only time I would use or recommend belly heat is in a situation where I only needed a small amount of supplemental heat for a cage in an already warm room.



Here's the problem with belly heat as discussed. Let's say you have a thermostat probe directly on the heat source such that it is essentially between the snake and heat source while the snake is "basking". With a heavy bodied snake the T-stat will fairly quickly reach the set temperature with only a small amount of the snake being warmed up. The top of the snake and the rest of the cage will still be otherwise cool.



So let's take the opposite approach and move the T-stat probe to an elevated area on the warm side of the cage. Now the snake basks on the warm area and the thermostat calls for the heat source to run until the desired temperature is reached.



In this case you have a situation where the snake basically becomes a thermal mass source and the upper parts of its body have to reach a certain temperature in order to satisfy the T-stat. What happens here is the the lower parts of the snakes body, particularly those in contact with the heat source, can become dangerously hot and cause thermal burns. Not surprisingly the heavier the snake the more likely they are to suffer life threatening burns. Even if these extremes can be avoided it is still an unnatural situation for the snake.



If you really believe belly heat is necessary for digestion, then provide that belly heat the way nature does... have a thermal mass source that is heated from above and holds heat. Something like a large ceramic or porcelain tile or even a scrap piece of granite or soapstone from a local fabricator (they love to give these away as it is expensive to discard them any other way). Concrete patio pavers also work and can be sealed so they are easier to clean.



In your situation (financial concerns aside) I would use a radiant heat panel (RHP). Definitely the best way to heat a cage for a heavy bodied snake in a otherwise cool room. But they are expensive and I can appreciate not wanting to add $$ onto a $800 order. Given everything you said I would go with the overhead cutouts and use dome fixtures. But they will be the most expensive to operate over the long haul.
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Currently keeping a small collection of various Gonyosoma. Both G. janseni and G. oxycephala.

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