Posted by:
chris_harper2
at Sun May 2 15:22:09 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by chris_harper2 ]
I generally prefer belly heat but one does have to be careful with it.
So first I would encourage you to determine if belly heat will be sufficient for your application. Basically you want to avoid a situation where the floor of your box will have to be dangerously hot in order to satsify your thermostat.
This is determined by the species you keep, the amount of ventilation in the tub (including the gap between the box and the shelf), the substrate you will use, and the size and placement of your water bowl. The design and material used for the rack will also matter as well as the ambient temperature of area it will sit.
Once that is done be very careful with how you mount your thermostat probe and where you place it. I also recommend a dimmer on line with your thermostat. If there is an accident that caused your probe to shift it's nice to know that the dimmer is there to limit the energy supplied to the tape or UTH.
Because belly heat is so efficient it is also potentially dangerous. Animals can get so close to it (as compared to back heat) that our probes typically have to be very close to it. So if something happened and the probe was even 1/8" farther away the tape suddenly has to receive that much more power to satisfy the thermostat. This is where belly heat can be dangerous.
In this regard back heat is actually a bit safer in a well insulated rack. Much more forgiving to slight shifts in the placement of your thermostat probe.
Basically this was a lengthy post to recommend belly heat but to clarify the conditions when it is most useful and to remind people to be careful.
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IMO... - chris_harper2, Sun May 2 15:22:09 2004