Heating Questions

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Gem

Not so new Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2017
Messages
45
Reaction score
29
Hi all,
Just recently read a thread about heating through the night and it raised some questions.
Maybe these are really dumb questions but oh well : )

Why do hatchlings need 24/7 heat? Is this to aid with growth etc?

The common consensus seems to be turning off heat during the night once the snake is a year old, just wondering what the reasoning is behind this?

Also I'm assuming the way you guys achieve this is by having your heat sources on timers?

Thanks! : )
 
There are probably many reasons for it, quicker growth being one, but I think the main reason is the belief that it will help hatchlings to not become problem feeders. I live in Queensland, so personally I don't do it and have never had a problem. Really it all depends on where you live and what the ambient temperature gets to at night. In a warmer climate there should be no real issue in providing a normal wild type heating regime. In places like Northern and Western Queensland you can even get away with providing no heat at all as long as the ambient temperature is warm enough for digestion and growth.
 
There are probably many reasons for it, quicker growth being one, but I think the main reason is the belief that it will help hatchlings to not become problem feeders. I live in Queensland, so personally I don't do it and have never had a problem. Really it all depends on where you live and what the ambient temperature gets to at night. In a warmer climate there should be no real issue in providing a normal wild type heating regime. In places like Northern and Western Queensland you can even get away with providing no heat at all as long as the ambient temperature is warm enough for digestion and growth.
Thank you for your informative reply.
Can I ask what heating regime you use? I also live in Queensland. My oldest snake is still only 8 months old so just trying to get a plan together for when he's older.
Thanks again!
 
It's done with hatchies to get them eating consistently.
Some problem feeders can take months to get established as feeders so you could be hitting winter before an animal has even had its first feed on its own. Getting some species eating can be a labourious task.
In nature these animals may well perish but in captivity we give them the opportunity to lead a full life so that once they do go into a period of fasting for winter they would normally be at their 2nd winter.

On a side not many keepers I find heat 24/7 365 days a year. This should probably be another topic for discussion but it's not something I would ever recommend.
 
Ectotherms need external heat in order to digest food. The more constant the heat source is, the quicker digestion occurs. Thus effecting growth rate.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Gem
So out of curiosity, what is everyone's heating regimes?
I'm interested to see what works in what region
Thanks everyone for being so helpful as always!
: )
 
Depends on species but I offer no night time heating to anything other than hatchies
 
There are probably many reasons for it, quicker growth being one, but I think the main reason is the belief that it will help hatchlings to not become problem feeders. I live in Queensland, so personally I don't do it and have never had a problem. Really it all depends on where you live and what the ambient temperature gets to at night. In a warmer climate there should be no real issue in providing a normal wild type heating regime. In places like Northern and Western Queensland you can even get away with providing no heat at all as long as the ambient temperature is warm enough for digestion and growth.

More heat has absolutely nothing to do with faster growth ahahaha

But yes, very in depth response about to get hatchlings to eat :)
 
Actually it does. By providing constant heat the meal is digested in a quicker time therefore allowing the snake to be fed more often which obviously would result in quicker growth.
OK. I think you may be slightly over thinking it :) ... the heat helps digest food, but all food will be digested WELL BEFORE the next week you feed it - I see your point, and you make a very good one as well, however, if you feed a snake every week, digesting food faster will make no difference what so ever in increasing growth rate :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top