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Herp Heating Product FAQ Version 1.0 August, 1994 Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only! No guarantee of accuracy is made, nor should one be assumed. All ratings and recommendations are solely the OPINION of the author. No scientific testing has been performed. Please E-mail corrections, comments, and info on new products to:
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All product names are the property of their respective companies. Use any heating product at your own risk! Use common sense! Copyright 1994 Michael P. Shannon Do not distribute without permission. For permission, please E-mail. Thanks! Introduction Reptiles and amphibians are currently the hottest ÒproductsÓ in the billion dollar pet market. Manufacturing companies are scrambling to produce herp related products and pet shops are rapidly increasing their stock of herps. Given this youÕd think there would be plenty of great products available for heating herp enclosures. The truth is directly opposite, however. Most of the heating devices on the market today are ill-designed, expensive, or even downright dangerous. Luckily there are a few ways you can heat your herpÕs environment safely and inexpensively. Overview All herps need heat at some point during the day. Heat not only provides energy for movement and activity, but provides essential warmth for digestion. This cannot be overlooked! In addition, heat is necessary for the immune system to adequately fight off infections. Reptiles are often referred to as Òcold bloodedÓ. Technically they thermoregulate by moving between areas of different temperatures. This is why a temperature gradient is the best way of providing heat. This allows for one cool end and one hot end of the enclosure. This way the animal can move to the area of most comfort. For reptiles, they generally need to be kept at a minimum of 80¡ for several hours each day. This is a very general recommendation as each species has specific day and nighttime temperature requirements. Amphibians also need heat, though generally less than reptiles. As each species has specific temperature requirements, itÕs important to be aware of these before buying a heating device, and before you acquire the animal. Check herp books and magazines for specific husbandry articles and information. In addition you may wish to check an atlas or other geographical guide for temperature ranges regarding a specific country from which your animal is native. A good thermometer is essential for determining proper temperature. ZooMed and other companies sell small, stick-on thermometers which react quickly to changes and are easy to read. Radio Shack also sells a digital unit which uses a probe for inside/outside temps. Cost is about $20. Be sure to check temperatures at many different places in the cage. Products On The Market Hot Rocks Hot rocks, also sold under the trade name ÒSizzle StonesÓ are rock-like _object_s with an _embed_ded heat element and an attached electric cord which plugs into a wall outlet. They range from $10 to $50. Most of these are unregulated, though a few new models do offer a rheostat (a cheap dimmer really) type of device to vary the temperature. These are a particularly poor way to provide heat for herps. If your herp needs a daytime temperature of 85¡, this means that the hot end of the cage should be 85¡, not just a small portion. These rocks also get extremely hot, and most have Òhot spotsÓ. Rarely do these rocks heat evenly over the entire surface. Many, many herps have been severely burned as a result. Many basking, diurnal herps are used to receiving their heat from above, from the sun. Due to this, many herps are unable to tell when their skin is too warm, and are thus susceptible to burns. These animals will also stay attached to these rocks if the rest of the cage is too cold. In an environment with only two choices; too cold and too hot, the herp will invariably choose too hot. Also related to the hot rock is the hot cave by ZooMed. This is a rock-like structure which the animal can enter to hide. The walls and ceiling contain heat elements just like a hot rock. The same disadvantages which apply to hot rocks, also apply here. Same goes for the Hot Branch. Rating: Not Recommended, Don't Use For Any Reason! Tropic Zone Heat Pads This is a relatively new product on the herp market. Unfortunately it really isnÕt any better than anything currently available. These pads apparently come in two sizes. I say apparently because the customer service at Tropic Zone leaves much to be desired. More on this later. The pads cost from $35-$50, which in my opinion, is way too expensive for a product of this type. Their claim to fame is the fact that they are internally regulated. The pads always run 20¡ above ambient air temperature. But is this really a good thing? IÕd rather be able to manually adjust the temperature myself, or connect a thermostat to keep the enclosure at a specific temperature. Keep in mind that the 20¡ above figure is the surface temperature of the pad, not the herp cage. The pad also uses a step-down transformer to reduce voltage to 15 volts. Tropic Zone touts this as a safety feature that will prevent burns and shocks to herps. I say seal the whole pad properly and you wonÕt have to worry about these problems.The pad itself seems fairly well constructed, but long-term durability remains a question as these units are so new. Along with the facts that these pads are very expensive, and have an unusual temperature regulation scheme, the tech support is unbelievably poor. I saw their full page ad in Reptiles magazine in the Spring of Ô94. The ad listed a toll-free number to call to receive the name of the dealer nearest to me. I called and got their answering machine. I left a polite message. No reply as of a day later. So I called and left another message. I did this four days in a row. On the fourth day I stated that I was unhappy with the service they provided and if I did not hear from anyone within a day I would buy a competitors product. Well, that did get a response. Of course is was four days after my fourth message! It never ceases to amaze me that companies will spend thousands of dollars on advertising and then fail to provide a simple name and address of where the product can be purchased. Anyway, I did find a retailer who stocked the Tropic Zone pads and had a chance to give them the once over. I havenÕt used these pads myself. From the various Herpetoculturists that I know, IÕve heard opinions ranging from poor to mediocre. Rating: Not Recommended Hot Blocks Hot Blocks are made by Tetra and consist of a thin (1/2Ó) rubber block with an _embed_ded heat element. They come in several sizes and range from 8 to 12 watts. The main disadvantage here is again the lack of adjustability. These units also donÕt provide much heat. And again they are rather expensive at $12-$24. At least they donÕt seem dangerous... Rating: Not Recommended Heat Tape Heat tape comes in rolls and can be purchased in any length. It can also be easily spliced together. ItÕs generally a clear plastic strip with a thin heat element sealed inside. There are a few different brands. This tape is originally designed to heat greenhouse plants or to prevent pipes from freezing depending on the kind you buy. The most common heat tape is made by Flex-Watt. It comes in two sizes (3Ó wide and 11Ó wide) and is sold by the foot. YouÕll also need a clip set and an electrical hookup to complete the heat tape. If youÕre even moderately handy, you construct the heat tape in about 5 minutes. Really. DonÕt be put off by the work involved. It is really quite simple. Heat tape has quite a few things going for it. You can buy the size you need. ItÕs really cheap, a foot sells for between $2-$4 depending on the width. The connectors and hookup run about $5 per setup. And you can place it in a variety of positions. Most users run it along the underside of the enclosure. To make the most of heat tape youÕll need a dimmer switch or a thermostat set-up. If youÕre handy you can save some money by wiring in a switch you buy from your local hardware store. Otherwise you can buy a no-wiring needed dimmer for about $20. Thermostats designed for vivariums run anywhere between $40-$200. Check Big Apple Herp (number below) or the herp magazines. Heat tape is most appropriate for those who use rack systems or other small cages. Rating: Recommended Light Bulbs Light bulbs have been used for years to heat herp enclosures and they still can be used successfully. They work particularly well when used in combination with other heating products. The proper way to use light bulbs is in a reflector pointing down from the top of the cage. Make sure the herps have adequate hide boxes
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