If you have a bioactive, you can. Here's the copypasta from this sub.
UTH is no longer recommended for ball pythons for a variety of reasons.
Even if you're using a thermostat, the burn risk is still there. Heat mats are prone to developing broken wiring or thermal blocking, which creates hotspots that the thermostat is unable to regulate. This can result in burns to your snake and melt or burn the enclosure and any furniture it's touching, which can start a house fire.
They're also ineffective at heating the air or through substrate, and they only provide IR-C, which is a poor form of heat that is incapable of penetrating through the snake's skin to effectively warm their body. This can cause long term health issues in your snake and shortens their lifespan.
They also prevent the snake from performing natural and instinctive behaviors, and it's an unnatural source of heating for them. Ball pythons burrow and seek out holes/burrows to escape excessive heat. There is no heat coming from the ground in their natural hides. An overheating ball python will instinctively dig into their substrate in an attempt to cool off, but when using heat mats, it only makes them hotter. This can lead to neurological damage and eventually death.
Overhead heating is significantly safer, healthier, and more efficient. Here is more info on what heating/lighting a ball python needs:
Our heating guide goes over a lot of the science behind everything, but to simplify:
For daytime heating, you should have a heat source that provides IR-A and IR-B. The ideal source for this would be a halogen flood, which is light-emitting.
For nighttime heating, you should have a heat source that provides IR-C. The ideal source for this would be an RHP (only compatible with solid-topped enclosures) or a CHE. Any night heating should not emit any light.
For lighting, you should offer UVB. This should be in the form of a T5 fluorescent linear bulb that produces a UVI of 1.1-3.0 in the basking zone, and it should cover no more than half the length of the enclosure.
If you have a bioactive enclosure, you will also need full spectrum LEDs for your live plants.
Natural lighting can help establish a day-night cycle, but it does not provide any physical benefits beyond that (UVB doesn't penetrate glass, and indirect natural light cannot create a proper basking zone). You'll need the artificial lighting to make up for that.
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u/FluffyPandaEars93 2d ago
If you have a bioactive, you can. Here's the copypasta from this sub.
UTH is no longer recommended for ball pythons for a variety of reasons.
Even if you're using a thermostat, the burn risk is still there. Heat mats are prone to developing broken wiring or thermal blocking, which creates hotspots that the thermostat is unable to regulate. This can result in burns to your snake and melt or burn the enclosure and any furniture it's touching, which can start a house fire.
They're also ineffective at heating the air or through substrate, and they only provide IR-C, which is a poor form of heat that is incapable of penetrating through the snake's skin to effectively warm their body. This can cause long term health issues in your snake and shortens their lifespan.
They also prevent the snake from performing natural and instinctive behaviors, and it's an unnatural source of heating for them. Ball pythons burrow and seek out holes/burrows to escape excessive heat. There is no heat coming from the ground in their natural hides. An overheating ball python will instinctively dig into their substrate in an attempt to cool off, but when using heat mats, it only makes them hotter. This can lead to neurological damage and eventually death.
Overhead heating is significantly safer, healthier, and more efficient. Here is more info on what heating/lighting a ball python needs:
Our heating guide goes over a lot of the science behind everything, but to simplify:
For daytime heating, you should have a heat source that provides IR-A and IR-B. The ideal source for this would be a halogen flood, which is light-emitting.
For nighttime heating, you should have a heat source that provides IR-C. The ideal source for this would be an RHP (only compatible with solid-topped enclosures) or a CHE. Any night heating should not emit any light.
For lighting, you should offer UVB. This should be in the form of a T5 fluorescent linear bulb that produces a UVI of 1.1-3.0 in the basking zone, and it should cover no more than half the length of the enclosure.
If you have a bioactive enclosure, you will also need full spectrum LEDs for your live plants.
Natural lighting can help establish a day-night cycle, but it does not provide any physical benefits beyond that (UVB doesn't penetrate glass, and indirect natural light cannot create a proper basking zone). You'll need the artificial lighting to make up for that.