Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is anyone using Radiant Heat Panels in their cages? I have been told by many that boas need belly heat, but they dont have that option in the wild and seem to breed regularly. Because of the cages I have 3/4" melamine, flex watt dosent seem like an option anymore. I was thinking that the RHPs would be the way to go. Any opinions??

Boas get belly heat in the wild, because the dark ground heats up in the sun. However radiant heat panels heats everything in the cage, even the snake. It's "radiant." The heat radiates in a way wholly different than a light bulb or CHE for example. Read this:
http://www.pro-products.com/proheat.html
If you still have questions, call up Bob there and talk to him.
Good luck.
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Caden Chapman
slithering.serpents@gmail.com
http://slitheringserpents.com

i also use 3/4" melamine cages and have used both belly heat and radiant heat panals, i like the heat panels the best. your animals will benefit from them getting heat from above and the melamine floor also heats up giving them heat below. i cost a bit more but is well worth it.
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Mickey Houtz
Boas4u.com

Thanks guys I have ordered some heat panels and look forward to using them.

I use radiant heat basically because I have my boas breeding in a 6ft Vision Cage and the bottom is 'uneven' and I don't think the boas would benefit much from underbelly heat given off by heat tape.

>>Is anyone using Radiant Heat Panels in their cages? I have been told by many that boas need belly heat, but they dont have that option in the wild and seem to breed regularly. Because of the cages I have 3/4" melamine, flex watt dosent seem like an option anymore. I was thinking that the RHPs would be the way to go. Any opinions??

I have an AP 48x24x15 cage using heat cord, this wasn't enough to heat the cage to 80-85 degrees in a room with an ambient temp of around 63-65.

I called Helix and spoke with the owner who is a real standup guy and he recommended what would work best for my cage and he was fairly accurate as it now keeps this cage between 83-88 degrees.
My only problem is the gas out process takes way to long I let the RHP on full for over 7 hrs out side of the cage and it still smells and currently my boa refuses to sit anywhere near it, the fumes are still present but slowly dissipating this is 4 days later . It made the whole room stink and I had to turn on a fan so when outgasing please do it in a well ventilated area.

With that said some companies offer a no gas out RHP not sure if this is true or not but allow at least 24hrs on full for the RHP to completely gas out. My nod still goes with Helix...

Hope this helps.
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Jason A.
"Long time Herper, first year Breeder `07."
My 2008 Care Sheet & The BRB Stats. Username: brb@kingsnake.com

>>>>Is anyone using Radiant Heat Panels in their cages? I have been told by many that boas need belly heat, but they dont have that option in the wild and seem to breed regularly. Because of the cages I have 3/4" melamine, flex watt dosent seem like an option anymore. I was thinking that the RHPs would be the way to go. Any opinions??
>>
>>I have an AP 48x24x15 cage using heat cord, this wasn't enough to heat the cage to 80-85 degrees in a room with an ambient temp of around 63-65.
>>
>>I called Helix and spoke with the owner who is a real standup guy and he recommended what would work best for my cage and he was fairly accurate as it now keeps this cage between 83-88 degrees.
>>My only problem is the gas out process takes way to long I let the RHP on full for over 7 hrs out side of the cage and it still smells and currently my boa refuses to sit anywhere near it, the fumes are still present but slowly dissipating this is 4 days later . It made the whole room stink and I had to turn on a fan so when outgasing please do it in a well ventilated area.
>>
>>With that said some companies offer a no gas out RHP not sure if this is true or not but allow at least 24hrs on full for the RHP to completely gas out. My nod still goes with Helix...
>>
>>Hope this helps.
>>-----
>>Jason A.
>>"Long time Herper, first year Breeder `07."
>>My 2008 Care Sheet & The BRB Stats. Username: brb@kingsnake.com
>>

Flexwatt is the heating element used in RHP from what I understand, so in theory you could cut costs by doing it yourself. My AP rack is setup using Flexwatt in this manner.

Goodluck,
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Jason A.
"Long time Herper, first year Breeder `07."
My 2008 Care Sheet & The BRB Stats. Username: brb@kingsnake.com