Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Construction for my new ball python enclosure is soon to begin. I'm planning out the new equipment I'll need to acquire before the cage is finished.

I've done some research and it appears the Kane heat mat is exactly what I'm looking for. $100 is quiet expensive, but it will last. I looked into the radiant heat panels and those don't appeal to me at all.

So I was curious if anyone has had experience with Kane? Pros/cons? I need to be positive this is what I want before I drop a hundo! :-D

Thanks,
Preston.

Kane's rock, mainly because you can wet them, clean them, drop them, kick them w/o damage. Plus they are insulated on the bottom, meaning they don't waste energy heating what is under them. They have more mass, which means the heat spreads out along the surface nicely with no uneven hot spots.

But, you need to know some things. First off, they are around 1/2" thick or so, but where the cord enters they are 1" thick. You need to leave room for the cord entry to the back of the cage. This assumes the heater is inside the cage. So if your cage is 18" deep, the 18" heat pad won't fit (you'll need like 20-21" deep in the cage minimum.)

If you are using the heater under the cage, then the opposite is true.. you'll lose 2-3" of heater space in order to butt (ha ha I said butt) the heater up to the cage bottom (avoiding the cord entry), so you get like 15" of heater depth on an 18" heat pad. No big deal, but FYI.

So, in summary, they are great. Make sure your cage is larger than the dimensions of the heat pad by at least 3" depth and whatever in length. Remember that they aren't flexible or sticky, which means you don't bond them to the bottom of the cage (although silicon may work for this.) Because they are a 1/2" thick you'll need to prop the cage up on spacers to slide the heater under the cage.

Thank you for the helpful info!

The enclosure will be 24" wide & 48" long. So I'll be going with the 18x18" pad. The pad will be inside the cage with one of his many hides over it.

I think the Kane pad should work perfectly!

Just curious, why are'nt the RHPs attractive to you?
I use them almost exclusively, and I love 'em!
Easiest, most efficient heating device I've ever used.Especially for my large enclosures.
Pricier than the heat mat...but IMHO worth every penny.
Bolt 'em in, set the thermostat, and forget about 'em.
I just check all my temps in more than one area of each enclosure with a temp gun every other day or so.
My temps have never varied once set. And here in the Northeast, temps drop pretty low in the winter.
The panel and controllers are a great combo.

I live near Minneapolis, so I know all about low winter temps. Although this winter has been pretty nice :-D

Anyways. I have nothing against RHPs. I just have no reason to switch over to them because what I've been using has worked so well for years.

When I was researching the heat panels, they didn't seem intriguing. When I learned more about the kane pad - I knew it was exactly what I was looking for.

I can see how the RHP would be very convenient in some situations. I'd just rather stick with my old habits of using UTHs and a combo of lights