Heat Lamp burning burmese python
Question
I was wondering if you could help me find a article or if you know off hand. I have an albino Burmese python and she is about 81/2 ft long i have a heat lamp as her source of heat and she cannot resist always laying under it. about 11/2 ft away and sticking her head right under it or into it. I keep it covered as much as possible but she will not stop bumping into it. I've Notived that her head has started to turn a little pink... ans now i see her body it alway turning slightly pink. Is she being burned? What do I do to fix this? She is too large for a heat rock and I really care for those. I used to have a heating pad but it got torn. Is that what im supposed to be using or is a lamp exceptable?
Answer
Sounds like a bit of burning but it's hard to say. I have a 'cage' covering the lights fully so they cannot touch the lights. However, they are made of a metal mesh and may cause other damage.
It seems she is not warm enough. Do you have a couple of thermometers in the cage? That way you would know if it warm enough.
At its simplest, maybe another basking light is needed.
I'm not sure what sort of cage you have but you could try a floor covering of some sort with a heat mat underneath. I've used cheap floor coverings - they can be cut to size and glued to the base. There is a german brand that is very inexpensive and works quite well - it stays flexible and is only thin so it is easy to lay. That way she would still have a constant temperature over about half the cage. You can also get Lizard Liner or even outdoor carpet that is tough and washable.
I use Flexwatt heat tape for heating - it's not expensive and can be cut to size. You should use a good quality thermostat to regulate it and that can be a be a bit expensive. The temperature probe can be under the covering or it can be on top.
Bear in mind, as she's quite large, she may dislodge the probe if it was on top of the covering and not secure. Commercial heat mats are often useless.
Another alternative is radiant heat panels. I'm not sure how much they are now but there are a couple of different sorts. Desert Ray, is one that comes to mind. Another type, Enerjoy, is larger, but does get quite warm - it looks like a heat panel for a house but is much smaller. Another manufacturer is Pro-Heat. They can be secured to the wall or the ceiling of the cage and because they are relatively large they can heat quite a reasonable area so she could probably fit most of her body under it.
Hope this helps
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