All depends on the background temperature (meaning ambient air temps) and the species being kept. I'll assume you mean kingsnakes since your on this forum.



I agree with John, IMO back heat is easier to control. I'll add that it is harder to overheat anything using back heat. Back heat is easier to setup in a rack usually.



The down side of back heat is when air temps get really cool, then not as much heat gets into the tubs. Insulation around the rack helps. During Summer, back heat is awesome.



A really good method is to use what I call "back edge heat". This is where you lay down heat tape on the shelf but at the rear of the shelf just where the back edge of the box sits over it by just about an inch (use felt pads on the box bottom if needed to get clearance so the box never rubs on the heater). This method kind of gives you a combo of some belly heat and some back heat but still has a nice built-in safety factor. This is a great setup for just about any kingsnake/milksnake. Figure that most kings can effectively heat up on a 1-inch wide area going across the tub.
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Mark

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