Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Which do you like better. I'm about to order an animal plastics rack and I'm not sure wich one to get. I have heard that the back heat is not very efficient and that belly heat is the way to go. I was just wondering if anyone had any opions that they would like to share. Thanks ahead of time, Melisa

Get the dual radiant heat from AP.
It works awesome. It surrounds the tubs with heat. I have it on 2 CB-70 racks and have the probe in the groove on the third shelf and haven't had any issues. Heats the bottom and sides of the back of the tubs. I haven't had the extreme temps swings from the bottom shelf to the top like I have had with other heat types. The dual radiant takes a bit longer to "heat up" when you first set up the rack but once it's ready, it works great.

I was planning on purchasing the 1960/1860 3 tub rack. Do they offer the dual heat with that one? Or since its only going to be three tubs will just plain belly heat work?

It depends on the rack. If it is a hatchling rack, then I would say back would be fine. Anything bigger than hatchling, then I would go with belly. Hope this helps.

NP

This one really is kind of a no-brainer if you think about it. There really is no room for discussion, (hatchling right to retiree) or at least intelligent discussion in my opinion...

Since ball pythons spend..ahh..100% of their life on their bellies it only seems logical for belly heat to be the most logical (and efficient) use of heat.
If someone could breed spider balls that were gravity-defying and can hover against the back of their bins 3 inches off the ground, then back heat would be best.

The only arguement against belly heat you could possibly get would be from the keepers who don't want to pay the extra for the heat tape needed for belly heat, or take the time to run belly heat.
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www.strictlyballs.ca

I use Back heat in all of my breeder racks. Works Great!
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http://www.jasballpythons.com./

The belly heat in an AP rack is provided by heat cable and is included in the rack price. So that's not an excuse.

Quite a few people use back heat when they have heated snake rooms as it works well at keeping the warm end at the proper temperature and allowing the cool front end to stay at the set room temp.
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~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors

I bought my AP rack with back heat. I absolutely love it, and so do the snakes. My animals are growing well and eat very consistently. I tend to agree with the post below about it allowing a greater variance in heat inside the tub. I have no problems with the temp in the back of the tub or the front. This is what works for me, but belly heat may work better for others. I also like the security that the three sided design allows over some other racks available on the market.
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Happy Herping,
Jody Barnes
Royal Kreationz

My snakes aren't fat, they're big boned.

I started off with exactly the rack you're considering (the 3-tub 1960 rack). It is now my quarantine rack since I ordered 3 more larger ones, and I have belly heat in all of them. It works fantastic and allows them to have a big choice in what temp they want to be. They can lay directly on top of the hot spot (set at 90) to be really warm, or they can lay next to it to be slightly warm, or lay all the way to the front to be cooler. They seem to make use of all of these areas and each snake has a certain place they like to lay. It never fails, always runs steady and evenly throughout the rack (I control my racks with Helix DBS1000 thermostats), and I really like the design. They feel safe and eat great because it's enclosed on 3 sides and dark. AP is the way to go!
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~* Jen *~

Pink Lady Constrictors

Thanks for your help!

I have used both and prefer belly heat. Back heat (at least the racks I used) were inefficient and would heat up the room rather than the reptile. The animal is limited on how much of his/her body can be directly exposed to the hot spot with back heat vs. belly heat. Further, most tubs have lips that extend the distance of the heat source from the animal. This usually means you have to turn up the heat even higher just to get the localized hot spot the way you like.
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Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles