Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I don't have central heat or air in my house, so temperatures fluctuate. Is it possible to use racks with belly heat, or is that not going to be enough heat in the winter months? I live in southern Texas, so it doesn't get too low, but it can get to 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit at night sometimes.

I'm wanting to keep western hognose snakes only.

Don't hognose enter Texas? Maybe Eastern Texas.. so I doubt Texas temps are a problem ..anyway, you should have no problem with racks with belly heat.

The snakes will likely brumate in Winter anyway. I would cool them in Winter to 55 deg F. The rest of the year the belly heat should be enough.

Use a thermostat! Ask me if you need help choosing a thermostat. So many great ones out there.

I was really lucky and found a good deal on someone reselling a heated rack and thermostat. It's back heated, and has 6 qrt tubs, but I figure I can either move into a bigger rack when my snakes are older, or just knock out some of the deviders and stick wider tubs in it as they grow. I was told that 6qrt tubs were a good fit for them right now, being babies.

I'm not sure how ideal the back heat is comoared to belly jeat, but I figure at the least there's less risk of burns.

Back heat vs belly heat:

Belly heat allows the snakes to heat up even if the ambient temps in the room are quite low.

In most cases with baby snakes, back heat is just fine. It does not take much to heat a tiny snake. For larger snakes, back heat only works if the room is kept somewhat warm, or warm enough where the back heat can get the back part of the tub up to the required temps. Again, a snake with lots of mass (e.g. ball python) can use back heat only if the room temp is high enough.

Our room is usually around 70 degrees F or higher. Sometimes up to 80. Is that decent?

In my opinion (well, fact really), the effectiveness of back-heated racks is compromised when the room temps are under 72 deg. Some colubrids would do fine with that, but boas/pythons should use belly heat if room temps are in the low 70s or below.

Covering the rack front with insulating material (styrene foam sheet for example) might help alot during cooler temps. Use a thermostat however if doing this.

There are portable oil-filled room heaters available that work really well. You will be able to keep the room warm enough so that back heat is effective during the coldest times of the year.