Sorry I missed this thread.



I have a couple of recommendations for you.



First is to cut a large rectangle out of the floor of your cage, staying at least 2" away from the cage sides. Make the rectangle at least 2" wider and longer than the size of flexwatt you'll be using.



Then cover the entire cage floor with a plastic flooring. This could be vinyl flooring, fiberglass reinforced panel, or expanded PVC (aka sintra - available from sign shops).



Then the heat tape can be taped to the underside of this plastic and have a 3/4" air space. It also means it will be much easier to access the heat tape. Route a couple of shallow grooves for the cord.



I do not like the idea of lexan (a type of polycarbonate), plexiglass (a type of acrylic), or glass.



All three are decent reflectors of radiant heat. This means a lot of energy will be reflected back onto the flexwatt which at the very least shortens the lifespan of the product and has to run a lot hotter. At the very worst it increases the fire hazard.



You want something that is naturally more heat conductive. I like the Sintra the best.



My second choice would be your idea with 3/4" spacers. Again, don't use polycarbonate, acrlic, or glass.



>>Does it hold up to heat better than plexiglass?



Yes.



>>Is it more scratch resistant than plexiglass?



Yes, but it's also much harder to polish scratches out.



>>Is it more like glass?



Not really.



>>Why would it be better as a flooring than glass?



That's a tough question. You have weight, scratch resistance, resistance to disinfectants, and resistance to radiant energy to consider. All sort of work against each other.



Again, I like expanded PVC for reptile cage flooring for all but the heaviest scratchers.
-----
Current snakes:



0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)



3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)



2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)



3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

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