Not trying to sling mud here.
But if you have the proper husbandry conditions, Retes Stacks are not really very useful. If you simply provide a high basking area near the heat lamp, and a large enough enclosure to maintain near 80F on the "cool" side, the stacks serve no real purpose.
The idea to the stack is to diffuse light and heat through the contraption to create varied levels of ambient temperature. Thus allowing, the animal to properly thermoregulate. So like I said, given proper husbandry conditions, this gradient of ambient air temperature would have already been completed. Allowing the animal to choose their preferred basking area of the moment.
The only case in which I see these being effective, is if the cage being used, is not of an appropriate size. The confined space would prevent a proper temperature gradient. So in this case, the Retes Stack would effectively provide the necessary gradient to assist the animal's thermoregulation.
Of course, proper husbandry should be your #1 concern (IMO). And a Retes Stack or something home made of similar construction would definitely not hurt.
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