Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So, I just transferred all my snakes from a melamine rack system to a Vision system and haven't had the optimal ambient temperatures that the melamine rack had provided. I decided I would buy an oscillating space heater to compensate for the ambient temperature difference. I got one from walmart for ~$45, and my question is are these safe to use in reptile rooms? I have seen them in pictures in snake rooms, so that leads me to believe that they are safe, but I have found a few accounts of the ceramic heaters letting off gases that have been accused of killing collections of snakes. Has anyone had any experience with ceramic space heaters for heating rooms ambiently, and did you encounter any problems with snake health or death? Thanks in advance!

I use an electric space heater in my room every year to take the chill out of the air. Never had a problem. I just keep it in the middle of the room away from anything it can possibly touch. It runs 24 hours a day all winter. Just make sure you get one that's safe...obviously.

I would Never use anything other than an oil filled heater!

These are the safest

Home Depot has a nice one with Digital Readout and Timers!!!

-Karl
Oil Filled Digital Heater with timer

...the air. Safe and energy efficient!
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Best regards,
AlanColesReptiles

One of my friend heated his bp room like this for 2 years. Worked very well just kind of muggy in the summer while in there doing cage work.

..OK

space heaters....never liked oil filled...friend liked them and hated caramics....go figure...

used ceramic for 20 years....used to pay 125$ now they run $24 at wallymart or kkmart....

...electric baseboard types...good luck.....I don't trust them at all....

OK...hear this part....MY SNAKE ROOM WAS IN BASEMENT...ALL CEMENT THAT DOES NOT BURN......bedrooms can and will burn....carpet...wow...carpet and heaters....ouch,.,.,..

....also...this part....""ambient room temps"" and the ""bottom rows""....NO way you can keep bottom of racks warm without heat tape....I couldn't keep them warm WITH heat tape...heat tapes don't work for crap if they don't want to....

that said...bottom of racks...what are they good for???...honduran milks...cave rats,,,coxi,,,latacinctus...etc etc etc..russian rats,,,nose horned vipers???....find a cool loving snake and expand from 100% ball pythons....

have fun...good luck......OH...and I throew the heaters away after one years use usually....mine got damp all the time..and didn't work well....so cheaper to get new than to run for less heat percentage....

good luck...
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........JY

i heat my room with an electric space heater. i too have contemplated switching to oil filled. i dont trust the electric one at all.

one problem i had is actually with my wife,.....lol
we have a full sized freezer in the snake room and she uses it for over flow from our regular freezer. she went in one day and decided she would vacuum up some spilled aspen on the floor.
she moved the heater right up against the rack. then forgot to move it when she was done. she KILLED 4 adult female normal balls.

another time she accidentally unplugged it and when she plugged it back in and turned it back on it had lost its settings. so it was running full blast for god knows how long. lost one snake and over heated a few others.

so now she isnt allowed to touch the heater or try and help in the snake room...at all.

with an oil filled you can wire in a helix and i believe it will save the settings if its unplugged. either way make sure you keep kids and wives away from your heaters...
adam jeffery
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" a.k.a. farfrumugen "
When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

Hi Adam,

I agree 100%. Ceramic space heaters produce usable heat much more quickly and intensely than oil radiators. While that sounds great, it is actually very dangerous for the exact reasons that Adam mentioned. Oil heaters radiate heat slowly and evenly, in a much safer manner. I use them in my reptile buildings as a supplimental heat source and in my incubation closet. New models have thermostatic controls built in and are fine in a shed or larger (up to 400 sq ft) room that has more air to buffer the temps, but I would use an on/off Ranco for a closet or a very small room to back up your settings. I know of many, many collections that have lost animals due to malfunctioning or setting errors with ceramic space heaters. they are very, very risky. Good luck.

Will

I know of one husband and one husband-to-be who have nearly cooked their WIVE'S snake collections thanks to space heater, rack heating, or other issues. Now those husbands aren't allowed to touch those settings anymore
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25 year old 0.1 from Lincoln, NE
Ball Pythons - 0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.0 Woma (hidden gene?), 0.1 Yellowbelly, 2.1 Normals
Kingsnakes - 1.0 L. m. thayeri, 0.1 L. m. thayeri X L. alterna, 1.0 L. g. californiae
Other - 0.1 Whitesided P. catenifer sayi, 1.0 H. nascicus, ?.? Chrysemys picta, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

Whatever heater you decide to use, be sure you use a back up thermostat. The thermostats on the heaters can, and do fail. Mine has, back when I started. Now, I have my ceramic heater set on 85 degrees, which keeps my room about 84, hooked up to a back up thermostat, set at 88, hooked up to ANOTHER back up thermostat, set at 90. Can never be too safe.

Remember, you are dealing with something elses life. Can never over back up.

Jason
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jason.trott78@yahoo.com