>>I have a couple of recommendations for you.



GREAT!!!



>>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 LOVE that idea, however I don't think I will be able to do that at this point, with the tools I have at my disposal. I wish I had had that idea BEFORE I had my boxes all assembled... but it's my fault for waiting until now to figure this out. I want to kick myself...



>>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.



Okay, thank you for that information. This is great information, and I greatly appreciate it. I didn't know about any of that. I'm so glad I asked my questions on here...



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



I've called every sign and plastics store in the phone book. Apparently living in Alaska makes certain things less obtainable than others. In order to get Sintra I would have to special order it, and it wouldn't get here for 6 to 8 weeks, and it would cost me upwards of $80 per cage. Not exactly what I had in mind...



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



Okay, I can do the spacer thing, although I would rather do the the other idea if I could. How about stone tiles? I don't know exactly how I'd do it, but if I could stratigically place the spacers so that the stone tiles could sit on them, wouldn't that disperse the heat appropriatly? It would also be tough I would think, and with any sort of luck wear down my bearded dragons nails. I wouldn't want to grout them together, but rather get them at the exact size I need them (large tiles, preferably) and sit them in next to each other like puzzle pieces with very little to no gap between. Is that a possibility?



I'm getting very frusterated coming up with a type of flooring. I love all of this information you all have provided me, it's exactly what I have been hoping for. I want the best for my reptiles that I can get, but I would like to get the cages done by the end of the month if I can manage it. They're all ready, just waiting for heat and a good floor. I would love to get them in their new much larger and better enclosures, but I can't do that until I get this very basic and important thing done...



Thank you SO much!!! You have no idea how much I appreciate this!
-----
Jenni

1.2 Ball Pythons

1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa

0.1 Pastel Columbian Redtail Boa

1.2 Bearded Dragons

1.1 Leopard Geckoes

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