Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So here is my second question. I recently relocated from FL to VA and my snake area in my new house is a little on the cool side (65-68F) and I suspect it will only get cooler as we get more into winter. My quick fix has been to run an oil filled electric radiator on a medium setting 24/7. Anyone care to offer an opinion regarding how big a fire risk I am taking? I keep Kenyan Sand Boas and like to have the cool area in the low to mid 70's and so far the heater is working but I am just starting to wonder about using the heater all of the time. I appreciate any thoughts. Thanks.

Rob

Rob,

I can't answer question #1 since I have little experience with any manufactured cage, much less the large ones.

The oil-filled, radiator style heaters are as safe as a choice as you have with plug in heating. And they are remarkably efficient.

For peace of mind you might want to run the heater through an aftermarket thermostat like a Ranco or Johnson Controls.

I used to use these heaters exclusively and still have one as my backup system in my snake room. I pick a cool weekend when I'm home and fiddle with the built in heat control until it's keeping things slightly warmer than my desired temperatures. Then I hook up my aftermarket thermostat and set it for my desired temperatures. This approach is similar to a double thermostat.

I'm sure you can set up your herp room in a way that heats your burms but also keeps the sand boas a bit cooler. Buy and infrared thermometer and play around with cage placement, etc. until you get things right.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Jave local (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)

1.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Celebes locale (Black & Tan)

n/p

As Chris mentioned they are quite safe plug in heat sources. I've been using one to heat my snake room for about 2 years now running it plugged into an on/off thermostat that is set slightly higher then the heater itself. (That way if the heater malfunctions it will go up another couple degrees then cycle off).
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Randall L Turner Jr.
Boas make the world go round.