# Radiant heat panels?



## Moozillion (Jul 20, 2013)

I saw "radiant heat panels" mentioned in another thread. Has anyone had experience with these as a heat source for reptiles?


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## wellington (Jul 20, 2013)

Tom uses them for his torts. I had called about them for my area, Chicago for winter, however, the company said they didn't think they would warm enough. They are used a lot for snakes.


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## jtrux (Jul 20, 2013)

If you type in radiant heat panel in Google the first thing that came up was some place called reptile basics. They have several wattages available. A little pricey but nice all the same.


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## EricIvins (Jul 20, 2013)

You have to understand radiant heat and how it works to figure out if it is right for you. Most people do not understand direct incandescent heat and how it relates to Reptiles, let alone radiant...

Radiant heat does not warm the air. It warms surfaces...


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## Yvonne G (Jul 20, 2013)

I spent $79.95 each for 6 radiant heat panels that I saw advertised in a bird magazine. They were supposed to be mounted outside the bird's cage, but close to where the bird usually slept.

Long story short, they just plain don't work in a tortoise house situation. You have to mount it down low on the wall next to where the tortoise would be, and if you do that, the tortoise wrecks it by bumping up against it and digging it, etc. If you mount it out of the tortoise's reach, the heat doesn't reach the tortoise. If you mount it on the ceiling, the heat won't reach the tortoise unless he's a pretty big guy and his shell is close to the panel.

I was very unhappy with my purchase.


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## Moozillion (Jul 20, 2013)

Yvonne G said:


> I spent $79.95 each for 6 radiant heat panels that I saw advertised in a bird magazine. They were supposed to be mounted outside the bird's cage, but close to where the bird usually slept.
> 
> Long story short, they just plain don't work in a tortoise house situation. You have to mount it down low on the wall next to where the tortoise would be, and if you do that, the tortoise wrecks it by bumping up against it and digging it, etc. If you mount it out of the tortoise's reach, the heat doesn't reach the tortoise. If you mount it on the ceiling, the heat won't reach the tortoise unless he's a pretty big guy and his shell is close to the panel.
> 
> I was very unhappy with my purchase.




Thanks, Yvonne! Sorry it didn't work out for you, but glad to know they're not the best for torts.


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## Tom (Jul 20, 2013)

I've been using them in outdoor housing for large monitor lizards and tortoises and they work great for me. The heat reaches all the way to the floor of my 24" tall boxes with no problem, and never gets hot enough in any one spot to damage my tortoises shell or burn a lizard that wants to reach up and touch it. Mine also help to keep the air inside the boxes in the 70's on below freezing nights.

Yvonne, I think you must have gotten some that were too low of wattage or just a brand that didn't work well. I wish you weren't so down on them in general because of one bad experience. I've seen them work very well in many applications for many people. You are the only person I know that has not been happy with them.

Here is where I got mine: 
http://www.reptilebasics.com/rbi-radiant-heat-panels

They make several different sizes and wattages. I am using the 80 watt panels and they are still functioning perfectly for me after about two years of outdoor use now.

Here is one of mine in use:









Moozilion said:


> ...but glad to know they're not the best for torts.



Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but like so many tort related things, everyone will have a different opinion on this. I think they ARE the best thing for torts because they avoid the shell damaging hot spots that I've seen so many times with CHE's. Its a bummer that Yvonne's were not effective for her, but me and many other people are quite happy with them, and they are much safer to use in my opinion since they do not get hot enough to start a fire.


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## EricIvins (Jul 20, 2013)

Yvonne G said:


> I spent $79.95 each for 6 radiant heat panels that I saw advertised in a bird magazine. They were supposed to be mounted outside the bird's cage, but close to where the bird usually slept.
> 
> Long story short, they just plain don't work in a tortoise house situation. You have to mount it down low on the wall next to where the tortoise would be, and if you do that, the tortoise wrecks it by bumping up against it and digging it, etc. If you mount it out of the tortoise's reach, the heat doesn't reach the tortoise. If you mount it on the ceiling, the heat won't reach the tortoise unless he's a pretty big guy and his shell is close to the panel.
> 
> I was very unhappy with my purchase.



Of course they are not going to work in that application because they are RADIANT heat panels. Again, they warm surfaces not the air. If the surface that needs to be heated ( Insert Tortoise here ) is too far away, they will be ineffective. They are very valuable to any Herp keeper, when applied in the correct manner...


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## Moozillion (Jul 20, 2013)

What is the correct manner for tort application?




Tom said:


> I've been using them in outdoor housing for large monitor lizards and tortoises and they work great for me. The heat reaches all the way to the floor of my 24" tall boxes with no problem, and never gets hot enough in any one spot to damage my tortoises shell or burn a lizard that wants to reach up and touch it. Mine also help to keep the air inside the boxes in the 70's on below freezing nights.
> 
> Yvonne, I think you must have gotten some that were too low of wattage or just a brand that didn't work well. I wish you weren't so down on them in general because of one bad experience. I've seen them work very well in many applications for many people. You are the only person I know that has not been happy with them.
> 
> ...





So, Tom- what wattage would you recommend for an indoor enclosure that's 8 x 3, with 24" ceiling, enclosed? We keep our house between 68 and 70 in the winter, and I have a Hermann's.


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## Cowboy_Ken (Jul 20, 2013)

This is what I'll be using with a temp controller. It has worked temporarily as a radiant panel so far. 

http://www.osbornelivestockequipmen...eld-nursery-heat-pads/stanfield-heat-pad-s203

They are very expensive, but I got mine on eBay for something like $30.00.


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## Tom (Jul 20, 2013)

Moozilion said:


> So, Tom- what wattage would you recommend for an indoor enclosure that's 8 x 3, with 24" ceiling, enclosed? We keep our house between 68 and 70 in the winter, and I have a Hermann's.



For your application, I wouldn't use one at all. I would just use a basking lamp over one end and leave the rest room temp. If your tort never sees the sun, I'd use an MVB. If your tortoise sees the sun regularly, I'd just use a regular flood bulb from the hardware store. I use 65 watt floods. Adjust the height of the fixture to get the basking temp you want.


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## Moozillion (Jul 20, 2013)

My tort is outside 24/7 for several months- I live in Louisiana. I'm planning ahead for her "new and improved" winter indoor enclosure, which we'll probably start using in October. Thanks for the info!


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