| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Mike80 |
Posted - 04/09/2012 : 12:29:35
I was reading this thread http://www.thecornsnake.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13838 and was interested in the fact that the picture is of a Royal Python:
About 10 years ago I was in the pet shop where I bought my corn and noticed there was no heat mat in a vivarium housing a royal. When I asked why, I was told something along these lines:
''We don't use heat mats with royals or supply mats to people buying royals.
Royal pythons don't react to pain in the same way other snakes do. When they're stressed, threatened or in pain they curl into a ball and stay still, hoping the threat goes away. If a royal is burning on a heat mat it will react by curling up tighter and consequently getting burnt even worse, this then makes it curl up even tighter and get burnt worse still, and it goes on and on like this.''
(Clearly the guy should have been using and supplying stats, but that's not the point of this thread.)
Now, as far as I'm aware (and do correct me if I'm wrong) all snakes feel heat differently to us, so they don't realise immediately that they're burning. But what he said sort of made sense, considering a royal will react defensively by balling up and staying very still. Whenever I hear of an injured snake from a heat mat it's more often than not a royal python that has suffered.
Does anyone know if there is any truth in this? Are royals more susceptible to burns from un-statted mats than other snakes because of their tendancy to curl into a ball when stressed or threatened?
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| 1 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Auld Baldy |
Posted - 04/09/2012 : 14:52:06
Heat mats should not be used for heavy bodied snakes. Their mass causes thermal block. This means that the heat under the snake is not dissipated but causes a local temperature increase. this is what causes the burns. Even with a properly statted mat, the probe could be on an exposed area that is not under the snake and will still function normally. Ceramic heat lamps or panels should be used for these snakes.
Ball pythons are so called due to the defensive habit of rolling into a ball. Snakes nervous system does not detect or feel heat or the fact that they have been burnt in the same way as mammals would sense and react immediately.
Burns to snakes are usually due to using the wrong type of heat source or not using a proper guard on a lamp. The ceramic panels must also be fitted with a proper guard even though they are ceiling mounted. |
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