A heat rock is the common name for a type of heating source in enclosures for cold-blooded animals to supply heat, in the form of a false novelty rock plugged into an electrical socket.
Keepers may notice that smaller reptiles prefer to rest on the heat rock most of the time, since it provides constant heat. Larger reptiles supplied with heat rocks often prefer to stay near their rock at all times, diminishing their novelty.
Pet owners and keepers now usually recommended a non-direct contact UTH (under-the-tank-heater) or thermal tape which distributes heat through the enclosure’s substrate placed in different areas of the tank to create a more even heat gradient, making the pet more liable to move throughout its enclosure. Another popular solution is replacing regular lightning with UV-specific basking lights.
Famous quotes containing the words heat and/or rock:
“Beware thoughts that come in the night. They aren’t turned properly; they come in askew, free of sense and restriction, deriving from the most remote of sources.”
—William Least Heat Moon [William Trogdon] (b. 1939)
“What a long strange trip it’s been.”
—Robert Hunter, U.S. rock lyricist. “Truckin’,” on the Grateful Dead album American Beauty (1971)