Hi there,
Have just bought a new viv for my young Rat Snake and will be kitting it out over next week.
Found this on ebay eBay.co.uk: REPTILE CERAMIC HEATER (item 300095353957 end time 02-Apr-07 08:23:54 BST)
Is it a reptile radiator and if so would it be suitable for a 3x1.5x1.5 viv ?
I take it I will also need a guard and stat, but what kind of stat is required for a reptile radiator ? Would I need a pulse type the same as I would if i go for ceramic bulb heating ?

Thanks in advance,

Marcus.

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0.1 Bairds Rat Snake
1.0 Springer Spaniel
0.1 Cat
1.1 Kids
0.1 Missus who needs to understand the need for more snakes.

Hi Marcus

The reptile radiator would be fine in that size of viv and will easily keep your temps up providing the room is not freezing cold.
You can use a normal mat or on/of stat for the rep radiators or a pulse stat if you prefer.

The reptile radiators do not get very hot, your snake would have to be wrapped round it for quite some time to be burnt, but you can buy guards for them if you're worried.

They can be bought from...

Habistat Reptile Radiator
Guard for Habistat Reptile Radiator

Alternatively you could make your own using some decent mesh.


The actual ceramic you have shown is not a reptile radiator and will need a guard like the ones above as it will get very hot. It will be more than adequate for a 3ft viv - personally I would use that specific heater with a pulse stat.

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So I could use that ceramic that I posted the link too but I would need a pulse stat to go with it ?

Or

I could buy a propper reptile radiator and could use the Mat Stat with it that ive already got in my current faunarium set-up ?

You dont need to have a pulse stat for reptile radiators ?

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0.1 Bairds Rat Snake
1.0 Springer Spaniel
0.1 Cat
1.1 Kids
0.1 Missus who needs to understand the need for more snakes.

Hiya,
We recently installed a Habistat Reptile Radiator into our monkey tailed skink enclosure for background heating, and it does get incredibly hot so I would recommend buying one of the guards for it. We have it hooked up to a thermostat so it pretty much just comes on for short periods at night. When the thermo was set to 70F it would come on for a couple of minutes at around 280F before switching back off once the cage temps had been accomplished! I would be very wary letting animals actually come into contact with the radiator based on my experience (in my viv its bolted to the roof out of reach).

You can use a regular Mat Stat, which can control devices up to 100W (the radiator is 75W). I think a pulse will control the device more effectively, but I have never used one and cant really comment further.

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my reptile rad is ran off a pulse stat and ive had no problems with it to date which is just over 6 months, i have to agree they can get damn hot, when i first installed it into my viv i was easily getting 120 so had to knock the stat down, plus they are more energy efficient than a ceramic.

im going to be using one as a heat source for a tort when i get one as will be more than capable of heating to the requirements i need!

only bad thing about them that i have found as they do tend to smell abit (warm plastic smell) for about a month

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when in doubt, use the gaffa!

Hi

I'm afraid I have to disagree with the person that said Reptile Radiators don't get very hot. I have about 4 of them set up to heat my chondro vivs and I have recorded the surface temp of the radiator at over 160F when it is heating the viv to a hot spot of 86F (hot spot usually 8-10 inches below the heater).

They dont tend to market heat guards with these very much because the shape of the unit would make it quite difficult for a snake to burn itself because it doesn't really have much to grip on to to keep it close enough for long enough to cause any harm. But I use the guards and I'd definitely recommend it just for the peace of mind.

cheers

stuart