I was at the vet recently (nothing serious) and I met someone there who had a childrens python that had suffered serious burns due to an enclosure fire. After a short conversation the enclosure setup sounded all too familiar, pet store plastic tub (the ones with a mesh top and a few clear hatches on the lid), basic probe thermostat and heat mat. A long time ago I removed these tubs from use when I noticed the plastic on the bottom warping.
This is not to condemn the new keeper who was put in this situation, by all other accounts the snake seemed to be doing OK before the fire (certainly it had to be quite healthy to cop this and still be alive). However it disgusts me that these "starter kits" are still being sold without any consideration on how poorly they actually function. The basic black box thermostat probe will usually sit naturally with the actual thermostat part of the probe about 2-3cm off the cage floor (the bottom part is just shaped metal). All heat escapes out the top and in a cool room this results in an enclosure where the air temperature is suboptimal and the heat mat is going ballistic. This is not to mention the added stress on the animal of being in a completely transparent enclosure put in an exposed location.
There are still some big name stores selling this style of setup, this post is a warning to all new keepers and an indictment of those selling this crap. These may function well if placed in a room with ideal conditions but they are NOT starter kits.
Rant over
Damien
This is not to condemn the new keeper who was put in this situation, by all other accounts the snake seemed to be doing OK before the fire (certainly it had to be quite healthy to cop this and still be alive). However it disgusts me that these "starter kits" are still being sold without any consideration on how poorly they actually function. The basic black box thermostat probe will usually sit naturally with the actual thermostat part of the probe about 2-3cm off the cage floor (the bottom part is just shaped metal). All heat escapes out the top and in a cool room this results in an enclosure where the air temperature is suboptimal and the heat mat is going ballistic. This is not to mention the added stress on the animal of being in a completely transparent enclosure put in an exposed location.
There are still some big name stores selling this style of setup, this post is a warning to all new keepers and an indictment of those selling this crap. These may function well if placed in a room with ideal conditions but they are NOT starter kits.
Rant over
Damien