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Whats better heat panels or exotera heat pads

Rottenweiler9 Dec 29, 2004 06:32 PM

Right now I have two extera heat pads in my vision cages but in the parts that its not on its like 70 degrees, should I add these or put these instead of the heat pads.

The temps on the heat pads is 92 and there is a light that gets to 85 but in the front of the cage its like 70 degrees is this to much difference.

Thanks
Jeff
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1.0 Super Tiger
0.1 Green Burm
0.1 Ball Python
0.1 Red Tail
0.1 Rott

Replies (7)

KL Dec 29, 2004 07:16 PM

I use the exo terra 11 x 17 inch pads on a thermostat, underneath my visions.

I get a 90 - 94 degree hot spot at one end and a roomtemp area at the other end.

I let the animal decide whether it wants to be hotter or cooler.

bigdee Dec 29, 2004 07:54 PM

What is the room temps? I have had heating issues for a while I just got a jungle habitat cage which helped alot. But my temps are somewhat like yours right now (depending on outside temps) on the hot side I have like 80-108 on the cool side its like 70. I first got a ultratherm pad and and temps was only in the mid 80's so i may send it back, then I got heat tape pluged it in and was checking the surface of the heat tape with a temp gun temps seem to only get mid 90. Now Im using the heat tape and a human heat pad over both the heat pad and heat tape the temps can go well over 100 but i have a thermostat. Now when I was having the problems it was like 19-20 below but recently temps have gone up to 40's so this is why im ok now. If your case is like mine now where there is a large area warmed to 90 your ok as long as they can thermoregulate, but if its like my case when it was 20 below where I only had a small area directly on cage floor over pad that was upper 80-90 but everything else was cold then it would help to have the heat panel and maybe the heat pad. This is what I was going to do but like I said temps are ok now.

Rottenweiler9 Dec 29, 2004 08:30 PM

That is exactly what it is. About 2/4 of the cage is about 90 - 92 and then another is 85 under the light thats about 1/4 and then another 1/4 is the 70 degrees. That is probably to low would you not think? Or is it ok to have that range?
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1.0 Super Tiger
0.1 Green Burm
0.1 Ball Python
0.1 Red Tail
0.1 Rott

Bill S. Dec 30, 2004 08:06 AM

Hi.

What is the size of the cage?
What is the normal temperature of the room where the cage is located?
What kind of animal are you housing?

Bill

markg Dec 30, 2004 02:34 PM

Most important is to focus on what the animal needs. I see by your species list that we are talking for a big boa/python?

Boas/pythons generally need air temps in the mid 70s to 90. They will do well with a heat pad if the air temp is say 75 or so, but if the air temp is much cooler, heat pads do little to provide what tropical snakes need. A hot spot surrounded by cold air is not an ideal setup for a boa/python.

Seems to me you need to heat the whole enclosure, and this means using radiant heat panels or heat lamps. At least, use these to raise the air temp. You can still use a heat pad if needed.

Using 2 different-wattage heat lamps in one cage can give you a nice gradient.
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Mark G
Collection:
CA coastal rosies "the uglier the better"
Sinaloan milksnakes

Burmaboy Dec 30, 2004 08:41 PM

Try the Bean Farm for the Ultra Therm uth.
They come in many sizes.Up to 4ft! You wont find that in the other "store" brands. ( Exo Terro Zoo Med, etc.)
If you want to heat the air though, especially in a large cage, you are gonna need to switch to a RHP.
I am running heat pads ( zoo med ) inside sealed 75gal tanks,in a heated herp room, and still need a light to help reach the temps I want.

Randall_Turner Dec 31, 2004 12:16 PM

I am guessing your room temp is fairly cold (that is why the front of the enclosure is so cool.) If you are not currently using it I suggest trying out using cypress mulch bedding to up the ambient temps.. The humidity that cypress holds helps to raise ambient temps nicely. (I have a 6x2x2 AP that held HORRIBLE ambient temps until I switched to a cypress/aspen mix for the bedding and now it remains at the mid 80s even on the farthest point from the heating elements. )
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Randall L Turner Jr.
www.aircapitalconstrictors.com

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