RHP with common boa

soad · 02-09-15, 12:34 PM

I was just wondering if an 80 watt rhp will be good enough for the animal plastics t10 or if I should have flex watt underneath as well?

Snakesitter · 02-09-15, 02:47 PM

I would ask the RHP vendor. In addition to the size of the viv, your heating needs will also vary depending on the room's ambient temperature -- a colder room will need more heat to offset it.

Sublimeballs · 02-09-15, 02:54 PM

^ this.

But in my experience I've never had to use any other heat with a heat panel. I've used both a 40 & 80 watt in a 4x2(not at the same time lol) both worked great but the 40is what I stuck with for a 4x2.

soad · 02-09-15, 03:25 PM

Thanks for the input guys, sometimes the room may drop a little below 70, I'll be purchasing from reptile basics.

Snakesitter · 02-11-15, 03:34 PM

You are welcome, and good luck -- let us know what you decide to do!

Sublimeballs · 02-11-15, 06:13 PM

All my panels are RBI and I'm very happy with them. Great guys. They're relatively local to me and I've been to their shop on several ocasions. I highly recommend them.

revent · 02-11-15, 06:41 PM

i have a couple of constrictor northwest cages that are 4x2x 14" that i have reptile basics 80 watt heat panels in. I have to say i am very impressed with them. my room conditions sound similar to yours and they work great. they seem to hardly draw any power to keep temps very stable. but with that said i feel like 40 watts would have been fine now that i have them i just wanted to go with 80 to be safe, and I still dont regret that decision.

Mad Max · 02-11-15, 08:21 PM

The people at Pro-Products said that all under tank heaters are unnecessary and potentially dangerous when I spoke to them on the phone.

Pro Heat

Snakesitter · 02-12-15, 03:04 PM

All undertank dangerous? That seems like a competitive overstatement to me....

Mad Max · 02-12-15, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snakesitter

All undertank dangerous? That seems like a competitive overstatement to me....

Have you spoken to them about it or read the link that I provided? Salesmanship is definitely a possibility, but then they could also produce and sell under tank heaters if they just wanted to make more sales.

Snakesitter · 02-13-15, 02:53 PM

The link is impressive. It is also clearly a marketing piece. ;-) What caught my eye was the very broad use of "all under tank heaters are unnecessary and potentially dangerous"...which is fairly heavy.

Mad Max · 02-13-15, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snakesitter

The link is impressive. It is also clearly a marketing piece. ;-) What caught my eye was the very broad use of "all under tank heaters are unnecessary and potentially dangerous"...which is fairly heavy.

Clearly. Who doesn't market their products? But the two points that caught your eye shouldn't be too hard to disprove if they're false. So, why would an under tank heater be necessary when a radiant heat panel is used? And which under tank heater has no possibility of burns or combustion?

Mad Max · 02-15-15, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mad Max

The people at Pro-Products said that all under tank heaters are unnecessary and potentially dangerous when I spoke to them on the phone.

Pro Heat

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snakesitter

All undertank dangerous? That seems like a competitive overstatement to me....

Well, I emailed them and a man named Bob was nice enough to reply. Here's what he had to say:

Quote:

Hi -----,
I did try to respond to the post you sent, but it was denied by the site (despite joining). If you would like to post my reply to the forum, Please feel free to do so. A copy is attached. Your panel is currently in the test rack and will be ready to ship by Tues. I appreciate your confidence in our products and look forward to serving you again in the future.
Bob @ Pro Products
promist@comcast.net
Pro Products ? Specialized Habitat Control Products
845-628-8960

Hi everyone. This post was brought to our attention by someone on your forum. To respond to the statement that we say that all undertank heaters are dangerous, this is not correct.
What I do state is that reptiles have evolved being heated from above with radiant energy from the sun, so will thermo-regulate more efficiently when heated from overhead with a proper radiant source. If all you provide is an undertank heater, the animal has no choice but to use it, but it is not the best method to use in most instances.
Those that use the "belly heat from a hot rock or other object" to support the claim that undertank heaters are preferred, do not take into account that the object was heated from above by the sun and when a reptile rests on it, it cuts off the heat source so the rock or other object will begin to cool down and can never remain at the same temperature or get hotter.
Since we strongly believe it is best to replicate natural conditions when possible, we do not sell undertank heaters for the above reason (even though we could add to the bottom line if we did).
What I also say regarding heaters in general (undertank or radiant panels) is that many brands being sold are not UL listed and use elements or designs that have a long history of overheating, shorting out and causing fires. These reports are not hard to find throughout the many forums, for example http://moreliaviridis.yuku.com/topic...st-classifieds. If you do want to use an undertank heater, by choosing one that is UL listed for the purpose (meaning it has the UL symbol on the finished product label) reduces the risk that one will come home some day and find a damaged cage, dead animals or worse, the fire dept. in their front yard. As these products age, the risk increases. In our industry few people seem to care about this until something happens and then it is too late.
Bob @ Pro Products

Even though there is a reduced risk of combustion, I still maintain that a UL listed UTH is still potentially dangerous, whereas Pro-Products RHP's are safe to the touch and pose no risk of combustion (*their claim). My UL listed Exo-Terra UTH shorted out 2 weeks ago, after just six months of use. The safety circuit did prevent more power from going to the heater, but it did so by burning itself out along with a quarter sized hole in the UTH, which made me wonder how hot that one spot must have been at the time of melting. I'm just glad that Karl wasn't hurt, but I wonder what could have happened had I owned a plastic cage at the time instead of a glass one. Regardless, it made my whole house stink of electrical fire and I personally will not risk using UTH's in the future, until I deem them of greater reward.

But that is just my opinion based on what I have experienced and learned from Pro-Products as well as others.

*

Quote:

Safest:

Can’t catch on or cause a fire, period.
Are UL, ULC & CE listed as a finished product.
Pro Heat™ Radiant Panels are made from completely non-combustible materials, so pose no risk of a fire hazard, nor can they damage or injure anything in the cage.
Pro Heat™ Radiant Panels can be safely mounted directly against any type of surface.

bigsnakegirl785 · 02-16-15, 12:21 AM

I also just find the way UTH/heat tape, etc. to highly inefficient in heating and I don't much like them. Since the air is room temp, not as much humidity leaves the bedding because the air can't hold as much and the bedding isn't being heated enough. Since I use my bedding to provide humidity, this becomes a problem, as the bedding will mold if not enough humidity is released fast enough, and if left for a long time could potentially cause scale rot. This means, in any enclosures I use belly heat, I must adopt a completely new way of providing humidity. Using solely belly heat means whenever the room temp drops, the snake's enclosure temps drops, too, since the air will never be above room temp. So any time the room temp drops (which is often as it's drafty), I must move the snake into a different room and heat it with a space heater, otherwise they will become extremely slugglish. I prefer using overhead heating where I can because of these reasons.

Snakesitter · 02-17-15, 02:36 PM

Mad Max, you seem very determined to reach the conclusion that RHPs are the ultimate solution, including reaching out to sources that will only confirm your opinion. If you like RHPs, go for it. I personally feel both options are fine. However, I've long since used Flexwatt and found it works fine for my needs. As I recall, it's fairly safe, too. Good luck with whichever decision you make. :-)