Heat rocks?

[Raycarpetpython]

Everywhere i have researched and everything i have read, i think roughly 90% of people are totally against heat rocks because of burning etc etc. Then there is the occasional person who says its fine. Well the reason I'm asking if there suitable, is because the one i have and have been using for around a month and a half is connected to a thermostat(built in). I have also felt the rock at full heat and it is just barely warm, so i can't see how this would harm the snake ( i realise the snake may be more sensitive to heat than me). Also to back this up...my snake has no burns or any sign of skin defects which may indicate a burn? In fact she really seems to enjoy it, and when she has had enough she will sit on top of her climbing branch. any comments/opinions welcomed.

cheers

[marvelfreak]

To truely see how hot it is put your forearm on it and hold it there. Our hand with stay heat better. So what might seem warm on your hand could be hot on your wrist or forearm. I use to of them and they don't get know where as hot as my heat pads.

[Feebo]

Yeeeeah as you do with a babies bottle.... Or use a laser thermometer, no herper should be without one of those they`re great. I my opinion mate you shoul listen to the warnings you`re hearing, people hate those things for a reason and once you eventually find out why people say that, well it`s too late then isn`t it, you`re snake is injured. Those things have hot spots, they don`t heat evenly, you can`t be there every second of the day to check it and sooner or later there`s a very high chance that that horrible thing will injure your snake. I respect the fact that you haven`t just followed everyone else like a sheep, I`m much the same in that respect but in this case, I`m more than happy to follow the flock ! Anything that has even the smallest possibility to injure my snakes has no place in my snake room. Laser thermometers are really cheap by the way, mine was only six or seven quid, that`ll give you an actual surface reading, something you aren`t getting with your hand. You need to know exactly how hot that thing is getting but more importantly, you need to see that it isn`t heating evenly, that`s the big issue here, that`s what everyone`s warning about. If it can heat unevenly, there`s a huge possibility that those hot spots can become runaway hotspots and burn your snake. A burnt snake is a very very sorry sight as I`m sure you can imagine. The thing is, if that rock starts to get far too hot, the snake will just sit there and get burnt, it won`t think oh this is a bit warm I`m off... It`ll sit and burn. I just wouldn`t take the bloody chance myself, not when it`s so so easy to just heat your tank with mats or ceramics and be done with it. I could probably cross the road blindfolded using just my ears, but I`m buggered if I`ll try it because there`s such a big chance of getting squashed and it`s so easy to just not blindfold myself lol and use a pedestrian crossing ! lol My vote.... Smash it to tiny peices. :)

[shaunyboy]

i have never had any dealings with heat rocks.what feebo's saying makes a lot of sense.why risk your snakes health no matter how slim that risk maybe its still a risk.i just couldnt settle knowing there could be some kind of heat malfunction.ive seen snakes trail themselves through their water bowl then sit on their mat causing the water to heat and burn the snake (so i'm not keen on mats either).i use ceramics in all of my tanks with the exception of my diamond python.i use a basking bulb and uvb for the diamond.the basking spot is always set at 94f and is timed according to the 4 seasons.the diamond also has a small mat (my one exception) with the stat set at 60f just in case the night time temps drop bellow 60f.its only diamonds that can be kept this way as they are true cold weather pythons.my other carpets i keep at 85f day temp,night drop to 80f.ceramic set ups are quite expensive compared to mats,but imo they are very accurate,consistant and last for a very long time.i personally wouldnt go past them.i hope this has been of some help to you mate.everyone keeps their snakes in different ways this is just my favored way of doing things.
cheers shaun

[shaunyboy]

feebo,i was thinking of getting a laser thermometer to use for surface temp readings in my diamond tank.you've obviously found a good one.could you let me know what make and model it is ? also where to buy it.
much appreciated shaun

[Feebo]

Yep no worries mate, I`ll have a look and PM you..... :)

[Raycarpetpython]

ok well i do have a spare heat coil, but my gf worries about it catching fire since it doesnt seem to be heat controlled as far i can tell. Is this worth using? does it sit under the tank or in it? What about heat mats? under or in the tank? cheers

[emseeKAY]

ok well i do have a spare heat coil, but my gf worries about it catching fire since it doesnt seem to be heat controlled as far i can tell. Is this worth using? does it sit under the tank or in it? What about heat mats? under or in the tank? cheers

with all of my herps ive used under tank heaters, they work well and give off just the right amount of heat, you can get the adjustable ones as well and they are much safer than a heat rock as long as you provide hot and cool spots

[infernalis]

heat rocks got a bad rap back in the day when they were low tech slabs.

New heat rocks from reputable companies are so much better now.

It's just difficult to overcome that bad reputation.

The newer ones, I have not had a problem with, I only have them in 3 cages, and 2 of them are buried under soil.

[Feebo]

I have a couple of heat mats in tanks, they are controlled by thermostats, the rest of my vivs are heated by ceramic heat bulbs contained within safety cages and again, controlled by thermostats. I also have thermometers in my vivs, I don`t just trust the thermostat and I also have a laser thermometer and I regularly check temperatures with that, if those three methods all say the same thing, I`m happy... :)

[shaunyboy]

i have 3 thermometers in each tank,hot end,middle and cool end.they are quite cheap ones the little needle guage types priced at £3 each.i use microclimate thermostats on all my ceramics.the 1 heat mat i use in the diamonds tank is inside the tank under the substrate.i'll try and post a pic of the new tank i'm just about to move my diamond into.got it for her coming out her cooling cycle so its empty at the minute.
chhers shaun

[infernalis]

I once used a small heat rock to warm up a small 5 gallon tank for a sick baby, I put 2 small boards to either side of the heat rock and set the tank up on that, so the heat rock was not even in the tank with the snake, it worked nicely.