Retes Stacks

Hey anyone use Retes stacks for beardies, ProExotics pretty much will testify that they are probably the best to use to diversify heat gradients. I used to use them for ackies but now i focus on dragons and I think its a good idea anyone out there have pics they can share?

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.

I agree that proper husbandry and the right size cage may make a Retes stack redundant but with animals that prefer to wedge themselves into cracks and crevices when not basking how practical is that in an entire cage. The stack not only provides the animal with a thermal gradient but with many more possible hiding spaces than might be possible in most setups. Even those of sufficient size and layout.

Since beardies don't seem to be the type of lizards that will wedge themselves into nook and crannies I don't know how useful a stack would be for them. I use a lot of the half logs in my setups and I rarely if ever see my dragons underneath one. I don't know how much they would utilize the different levels of a Retes stack but my gut says they probably wouldn't (and if you saw my gut you would listen)

I completely agree Steve. If used for several other species of lizard, such a device could be of great benefit.