Heating Options?

[wm460]

Which is more efficient a ceramic heat emitter or a heat lamp?
For Aussie Pythons.

[chairman]

Ceramic heat emitters are more efficient at creating heat than a heat lamp. This is because the emitter is designed to just create heat while the light is only emitting heat as a by-product of creating light.

You'll probably need to use a light with a ceramic heat emitter, so it is possible that your combination of light + heat emitter could be less efficient than just one heat bulb would be.

You can also look into radiant heat panels, they're a different kind of heat emitter that is quite efficient but are easier to mount inside a cage than a traditional ceramic heat emitter.

I've also found that my Aussie carpet pythons can get by with a heat cable wrapped on a perch as long as the room temperature stays around 22 degrees or more. The pythons move onto the heated portion of the perch for heat then move off when they don't need it. I keep my heat cable set to around 37 degrees.

[wm460]

Thank you for your reply, I’m wondering what wattage globe you would recommend?
Where I live, it is normally hot, 38°C plus most of the year, and just need warmth for the snakes for a month or so a year.

[chairman]

It'll depend on the type of bulb you use. A 20 watt xenon bulb (like for under cabinet lighting) puts out as much heat as a 45 watt incandescent bulb. A 60 watt CHE will put out more heat than either of two, though you can run those on dimmers to reduce output. And even a standard CFL bulb will raise a sealed/closed (no screen, just vents) enclosure's temperature by about 3 degrees C.

I prefer the xenon/halogen puck lights because they produce a lot of heat and are usually dimmable. A light (or CHE) on a dimmer can be set to provide the appropriate temperature, and you can plug it into an inexpensive on/off thermostat to make sure the heat cuts off before it gets too high.