Do you need both a heat mat and a light?

[ScottRamsay]

Hi,
I have an adult Diamond Python & I heard you don't need both light and mat. I'd prefer the light if I could have one or the other.
Are the any pros and cons to this?

 

[Ishah]

I'm not sure about the not needing a light thing, as apparently diamonds need UV? I dont know, They aren't really my cup of tea and I dont keep them, plus its too hot up here for them to live comfortably, so cant help you on that part...

But I have experience with heatmats, heatcords, and lightbulbs...

Lightbulbs: Blow frequently and easily, preference is to put a cage round the bulb so as to not have your snake burn itself by wrapping round it or whatever... I personally only use bulbs for my Dragons, as they need UV etc... Otherwise I would use another heating option...as it works out too expensive replacing the damn bulbs so often... Also takes up a fair amount of powerpoints etc if you have a lot of snakes etc. Also times that by your bulb wattage, and adds significantly to your power bill...

Heatmats: Not as high of a risk burning your python, although some have had snakes get burns etc from them... Wont Blow like lightbulbs...and hence dont have to be replaced as often and hence cheaper in that respect... Although does take up powerpoints and contribute to your power bill like lights. I just use them for my geckos as it is easier to heat them that way I find...

Heatcords (my personal favourite): Probably the least risk of inflicting burns to your python... Flexible, can move to suit, etc etc etc... Can use one long cord to heat multiple tanks, hence less powerpoints used, and hence less of a contribution to your power bill i.e. only 1 80watt cord as compared to 10 or whatever 80watt bulbs or mats or whatever...Dont blow like lightbulbs, and not as much of a risk of hotspots, can space the cord according to how high or low you want the temp and eliminate potential hotspots this way. I use 2 80watt (9m) cords to heat all my 10 snakes, and they get 2-3 runs of it under their tanks too. They cover a fairly significant distance/area! And you arent restricted in any way like heatmats in respect to that... This is the most efficient, safe and cheapest method to use for pythons IMHO, others may disagree with that statement, but I have found no probs or dramas with it, except for it can be annoying how they dont stay in the place you want, but I have found those closeable clip thingos work a treat to hold them in place etc so no real dramas apart from that, which I rectified!

Thats all I can think of on the pro's and con's atm, others would be able to add to it though, as I know there are some points I have missed... But hopefully that helps you...And makes sense...

 

[Stitched]

This is worth a read too
http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-snakes/my-experiences-with-dps-65233

 

[Hoon84]

Hi,
I have an adult Diamond Python & I heard you don't need both light and mat. I'd prefer the light if I could have one or the other.
Are the any pros and cons to this?

All you need is a good quality basking lamp, such as the the exo terra sunglo.
Put it on a timer for 4 hours (September til April) and 2 hours (April til September)
Set your thermostat (Dimming works better than switching) at 32- 35 degrees
No heat mat is required because your snake has a bodyclock just like humans, you will find that it will come out of its hide around 8 or 9am bask for an hour or 2 to get its body temp up, then it will retreat back to its hide until its dark. Then they will come out and cruise around its enclosure during the night exploring/hunting.
They will return to their hide until the morning then almost like clockwork, they slither out of their hide around 8 or 9am for a bask and the whole process is repeated.
This of course isnt a perfect exact science and times will vary from snake to snake as some prefer a sleep-in and may not emerge to bask til 10am or so. But ive been studying my diamond closely for over a year now and this is the daily ritual that she seems to follow

 

[Egernia]

Scott your choice should be three pronged as there are really two types of light - heat lights and UV lights.

Heat mats or heat cords are great for providing heat so no matter what you decide regarding the lighting issue you will be well off to secure yourself a heat mat or heat cord. One huge advantage of heat mats and cords is that they give off heat without visible light which can be instrusive late at night.

UV lights generally do not give off a lot of heat as they are generally in the form of fluroscent tubes and lights. The exception here would be halogen bulbs but I think it best to leave halogens to the pro's as they can cause problems if used incorrectly. So your UV light is going to give off visible light and provide your pet with UV. Whether Diamonds need as much UV as other species is open to debate so if money is an issue you can probably do without one, even for the short term, but if money is not an issue then why not set up UV lighting to be sure.

Heat lights in the form of incandescent globes will give off visible light and also heat. It is unlikely that you need to have both a heat mat/cord and heat lamp but provided you are monitoring your temperatures then it wont hurt. Diamonds do like to bask and a heat lamp may encourage them to bask in a more visible location high up in your enclosure than a heat mat by itself would. Always protect your pet from heat lights by way of mesh light cages.

So the answer here really depends upon what you want type of enclosure you have and how much money you want to spend.

Heat Mat / Cord + UV light = enclosure heating and lighting with the bonus of UV
Heat Mat / Cord + heat light = enclosure heating two sources and lighting

 

[JasonL]

For a Diamond you need little to no heating for where you live. As long as the room temps get average around 25 for spring / summer and the odd hotter day here and there wil be enough.

 

[ScottRamsay]

All of your answers were fantastic and I appreciate it very much. If anybody has else has anything to say please don't hesitate.

Thanks everyone.