snake racks and heat?

[lanalizard]

hey all...i have noticed a lot of you have AWESOME looking snake racks and i wanna say congratz for making them!
my question is, how do the snakes get the heat? i know some people's houses are really warm and so they dont use it but i remember that reptiles need thermoregulation? cuz i, one day, wanna build a snake rack for the snakes i have to come in the future and i wanna know how to provide their heat.

Thanks in advance,

[Linds]

Hi Krissy! I had someone else build my rack so no kudos to me :o Racks are a great place to house herps, but you do need to keep them in a room that has a decent ambient temp. Most of us use heat tape to heat them. Some people run the heat tape near the back end of each shelf, or they run it right down the back of the rack, this provides a basking spot for the animals. Provided the ambient temp is warm enough, it will provide a sufficient temperature gradient. Hope this helped :)

[Lisa]

there's also ceramic heaters with wire guards around them

[Linds]

How would you heat a rack with cermic heaters?????

[ElapheScott]

When I put my snake shelves up I went crazy looking for the heat tape, so to save anyone else the confusion, it's not the heat tape for pipes, but flooring heat tape found in any carpet or floor tile shop.

[JamesBryan]

I have used heating products from underneath for years. Recently I have tried from the back. I was not sure if a good heat gradient could be held with so little heat tape. I purchased a Boaphile rack and have loved it. I am sold on heating from the back now. Much cheaper all the way around.

The deepness of the rack would have a lot to do with keeping the heat in I would think.

James Bryan

[Lisa]

Originally posted by Linds
How would you heat a rack with cermic heaters?????

i wasn't thinking for a plastic enclosure, i was thinking more a larger wood enclosure

i used to have a picture of one but i lost the link. :(