RHP vs. Flood lamp for heat?

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Conner

Conner

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 27, 2008
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Kentucky
What are the benefits of a RHP (radiant heat panel) vs. a flood lamp for heat? These are the obvious ones to me:

1. Can be left on 24/7 without effecting the day/night cycle of the animal.
2. Tend to heat more evenly, without getting so hot as to burn.
3. Take up minimal room inside an enclosure.

Are there any other pro's of an RHP vs. a flood lamp?

I just finished building a new terrarium, and I'm trying to decide if I should just use my current flood lamp as a heater, or if I should go ahead and invest in an RHP.

What do you guys think?
 
Personally I like the heat panels more since they can give an ambient temperature and cant burn snakes or other reptiles if they go up and touch them or anything. that and they dont look half bad. From everything I have read they are definitely worth the investment in the long run since you dont have to replace bulbs every couple months and stuff
 
It depends on what type of animal your going to be heating.
I think RHP are much better for snakes.
Monitors and Iguanas need higher basking temps ,which would be very hard to get with a RHP.
If the new cage is for your rhino, Id definatly go with incandescent flood lamps.
You could probably use the RHP in the cage to get the ambient temps up, but to create a 120 to 130 deg basking area with a RHP would be very hard to do, and expensive. Bob
 
Edwardo;4557128; said:
It depends on what type of animal your going to be heating.
I think RHP are much better for snakes.
Monitors and Iguanas need higher basking temps ,which would be very hard to get with a RHP.
If the new cage is for your rhino, Id definatly go with incandescent flood lamps.
You could probably use the RHP in the cage to get the ambient temps up, but to create a 120 to 130 deg basking area with a RHP would be very hard to do, and expensive. Bob
Click to expand...

Agreed. You could do floodlights at one end to get your basking spot and a RHP toward the middle to give you more of a gradient from the hot end with the basking spot and the cool end. That also gives you the option of heating at night without having to decide between night heat and going the 24/7 light route.
 
If Im not mistaken radiant heat panels also take less energy to run rigth?
 
Yes, the RHP I'm looking at only takes 40w, vs. the 120 or 125w bulb that I'm currently using.

This will currently be used for a juvenile rhino iguana, but will likely be used for a dwarf monitor (ackie's or timor's) or a snake of some kind in the future.
 
And the RHP's can get up to 190F on the surface of the lens, although I doubt they heat objects below them up to that temp. I'm guessing that I could get a basking spot up to 120F if I place it the right distance below the RHP.
 
Mad About Cichlids;4559490; said:
I believe heatpads help maintain humidity better without drying out the enclosure too quickly.
Click to expand...

Heat pads are hard to do in an all-wood enclosure without putting it somewhere the reptile can come in direct contact with it though. The RHP eliminates that by being on the ceiling, where the animal could technically jump into it, but can't lay on it, risking burns.
 
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