The CHE guards are made out of 3/4" wood and are 7 1/2" square. I've got one that's not mounted and will try to remember to get a few photos for you soon.

With several Burmese Pythons & a few Retics, over the years I've explored a lot of different caging ideas, materials, etc... Each one has it's pros & cons, trade-offs, etc... Pre-built, DIY, etc...

If you're able to keep the room's ambient temperature near 80 you shouldn't have to worry about heating the cool side like some people have to. I keep my room's ambient temp up, too. I'm not saying that my cages are perfect for everyone in every situation but I really lucked out and they're perfect for me, my situation, as long as I can keep the temps up in my reptile house.



They're made out of 3/4" plywood & sealed with water-based polyurethane. They're 7ft long x 18in high x 3ft wide. With the room's ambient temp between 76 - 80°, two 150-watt CHEs on the hot side set at 92°, the ambient temp on the cool side is 80°. If the cage was shorter the ambient temp would be slightly higher due to the hot spot heat. The only reason mine are 7ft long instead of 8ft is because of where I used to live I only had just over 14ft of space to put two stacks of cages.

The bottom cage is the only one I have two CHEs in. The heat rises through the cage just enough to give a nice warm spot in the floor of the above cages and I use a single CHE for additional heat. I use one thermostat probe for the bottom cage & one for the rest of the cages on top of it. One probe can't effectively regulate the bottom cage and the one on top of it.

There's a lot more to consider as we all have our own taste. For instance, melamine can be used instead of plywood. It eliminates having to coat the plywood and even has slightly more insulation capabilities. However, various grains or colors aren't easy to come by & it will be a lot heavier. A LOT heavier.

Randy & Michelle of Art In Scales uses a lot of melamine & belly heat. Hopefully they'll see this post & chime in with some things for you to consider. Prepare yourself for a world of choices. Ha! Ha! Sometimes I wish we didn't have so many choices.

Catch ya later!
HH

-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American


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