| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 20/05/2012 : 13:56:41
Hey guys in the process of writing a care guide for my website what you think about this?
" Your heat mat is a key piece of equipment without it the snake will find it difficult to survive in captivity. While heat mats are important what is more important is having a thermostat control it, without this the heat mat can overheat the RUB which is equally dangerous for the snake, the thermostat will also act as a safety barrier should the heat mat overload the thermostat will turn it off stopping it from melting your plastic RUB. It is important that the heat mat be placed underneath the RUB not inside it, when a large bodied snake like a python grows to a certain size he is capable of thermal blocking. To understand thermal blocking we need to understand how the heating apparatus works.
Firstly the heat mat is plugged into the Thermostat; the Thermostat is then plugged into the mains giving power to the heat mat. A sensor from the thermostat is placed inside the RUB to monitor the temperature, when it is too cold the thermostat supply’s power to the heat mat, when it is too hot the thermostat cuts the power and turns the heat mat off. Normally the heat inside the RUB will disperse at an appropriate rate, and then be reheated by the heat mat and thermostat and repeat over and over keeping the RUBata goodtemperature. However if your Python is laying on top of the heat mat there will be heat building up under his belly unable to disperse as quickly as the heat in the rest of the RUB, when the heat from the RUB has dispersed and the mat sets to building it back up again the heat underthe snakes belly has barely began to disperse, the heat mat will set to reheating the RUB, all the while adding more and more heat underthe belly of the Royal, this is very dangerous and can cause extreme burns. Having your Heat Mat underneath the RUB will put a layer of plastic between the royal belly and the heat mat, it will absorb the heat as to give your snake a nice warm belly but also disperse it quickly enough as to not overheat. |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 27/05/2012 : 08:21:38
Thanks Meadow, my brain runs too fast when I start typing and forgets to organize what I'm typing lol :D |
| jhk2005 |
Posted - 22/05/2012 : 13:27:45
I used to have the probes on the mats themselves, but I found it hard to measure the temps accurately as they were being affected by the air temperature as well as the mat. Since then i've always place probes in the rubs and found it to be much more accurate. |
| Meadow |
Posted - 22/05/2012 : 13:12:15
I tweaked it a bit (hope you don't think I'm being cheeky)  Information sounds fine to me, I just tweaked the grammar and punctuation:
"Your heat mat is a key piece of equipment, without which a snake will find it difficult to survive in captivity. While heat mats are important, having a thermostat to control it is even more so. Without a thermostat the heat mat can overheat the RUB, which is equally dangerous for the snake. The thermostat also acts as a safety barrier and, should the heat mat overload, the thermostat will turn it off, preventing it from melting your plastic RUB.
It is important that the heat mat be placed underneath the RUB, not inside it, as when a large bodied snake like a python grows to a certain size it is capable of thermal blocking. To understand thermal blocking we need to understand how the heating apparatus works.
Firstly, the heat mat is plugged into the thermostat. The thermostat is then plugged into the mains, giving power to the heat mat. A sensor from the thermostat is placed inside the RUB to monitor the temperature; when it is too cold the thermostat supplies power to the heat mat, when it is too hot the thermostat cuts the power and turns the heat mat off.
Normally the heat inside the RUB will disperse at an appropriate rate, and then be reheated by the heat mat and thermostat and repeat over and over to maintain a consistent temperature in the RUB. However, if your python is lying on top of the heat mat, there will be heat building up under its belly, which will be unable to disperse as quickly as the heat in the rest of the RUB.
When the heat from the RUB has dispersed and the mat sets to building it back up again, the heat under the snake's belly has barely begun to disperse. The heat mat will set to reheating the RUB, all the while adding more and more heat under the belly of the Royal. This is very dangerous and can cause extreme burns. Having your heat mat underneath the RUB will put a layer of plastic between the royal belly and the heat mat. The plastic will absorb enough heat to give your snake a nice warm belly but also disperse it quickly enough so as to not overheat." |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 22/05/2012 : 12:57:32
So I have ^^ |
| reptilemadd |
Posted - 20/05/2012 : 18:43:38
Sounds good mate but you've missed the word "to" out from between thermostat and control at the front of the second line :) |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 20/05/2012 : 17:53:41
Either, as long as you measure the temperature from inside the RUB where the snake is the stat can be in either position.
I personally put it inside but thats just what I've found to be more accurate but I use hotglue to stick them in place so the snake cant move them. |
| matthewsaint |
Posted - 20/05/2012 : 16:58:59
is it best to have the probe inside the RUB or on the heatmat? I have mine on the heatmat, but I seen a video saying that it should be in the RUB because that's where the snake is? |
| Kelfezond |
Posted - 20/05/2012 : 16:14:25
Aye I've started the care sheet explaining that this is how I've done things there are other ways |
| GMac |
Posted - 20/05/2012 : 16:00:34
Mats are contact heaters they wont heat the rub as such as just the area directly over it thats how the thermal blocking part fits in if there is a weight on one part of the mat it will heat to a greater temp than the part with no weight on it. There are also a few options for placing the thermostat probe, i have mine on the mat itself and not in the rub. means snake cant shift it easily. |
| chrisc |
Posted - 20/05/2012 : 15:15:28
sound good to me |
| blackskull |
Posted - 20/05/2012 : 15:10:02
reads good, nice to see something about thermal blocking. i don't think i have seen a section on it in any care sheet i have read |
| Fezza |
Posted - 20/05/2012 : 14:37:06
Reads fine, cannot comment on the science behind your document. My knowledge of thermodynamics is fairly limited but it sounds ok in principal  |
