Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. Its getting pretty cold in the house and so I was thinking about moving all my snakes into my bedroom and using a space heater to keep the ambient temperature high. However, Im a little nervous about fire hazards. Ive never used space heaters before and dont wont to screw everything up. Im looking for opinions on them in turns of heating a reptile room.

I would suggest oil heaters, they don't have the supper hot elements like the fan style heaters. They also provide a pretty consitant heat. I just picked one up for 45 from target and it keeps my snake room right at 76 only 1/4 the way on.

I personaly think they're the safest but would like to hear others opinions as well.
Nate

We use space heaters in both our reptile rooms. We have a programmable thermostat, like runs a house, that controls the heater. You will also need a transformer and a relay so the thermostat can control the heater. Our way is a bit pricey, about $150 for everything, but we can do night drops on the whole room. In the summer we hook the system up to a window unit air conditioner to control the heat on hot summer days, so it really works well for us.
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Randy and Michelle
Art In Scales
(719) 439-4199
info@artinscales.com

Space heaters are safe if used right. Extension cords are a bad idea unless you use a heavy duty shop cord, but I still would avoid it if possible.

Another area to keep an eye on is the plug-in connection. Spread the prongs on the heater's plug so you get a good, tight, snug connection. You should replace worn out outlets that don't hold the heater's plug firmly in place.

What happens in the connection area between the plug & outlet is that the flow of electricity heats up the connection & the plastic housing of the heater's plug, allowing the prongs to flex and the on/off surges of the electrical flow causes the prongs to flex. This can lead to arching and shorting. This applies to any electrical heater - space heater and/or radiant oil-filled.

They're all safe as long as you follow the above guidelines. At least, that's my humble opinion.

I personally like the way the radiant oil-filled heaters heat up a room better than most fan-forced space heaters. Be sure to get one with a built-in thermostat. Well worth the few extra bucks. By far.

Randy (Art In Scales) has got a somewhat elaborate setup that seems to work really well. Just depends on how far you want to go.

One thing to keep in mind is how heaters lower cage humidity. You might find that you'll need to incorporate a humidifier/vaporizer. If I'm not mistaken, I think Randy does.

Have a good one!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com

Yes we do run humidifiers in our snake rooms. Partly because of the heaters and partly because we live in Colorado, the land of single digit humidity.HaHa
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Randy and Michelle
Art In Scales
(719) 439-4199
info@artinscales.com