Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok admittedly new to all this but always willing to learn

Had heard of flex tape, under tank heaters and even Kane mats ..but RHP...please do tell. We are building a 4x2x2 enclosure for the beardies and as we live in "the great white north" & heat with wood, keeping a warm cage at a low cost is a priority; especially since if we work this cage out, a cage for the daughter's Egyptian Uro who likes a MUCH warmer cage is not far behind. Hubby is an electrician so wiring stuff is his dept I am just the researcher so please incl any electrical stuff too so I can pass it on to him along with any no nos since he has never done this type of thing before(I dragged him into the repti world)

Was originally thinking that we would simply insert glass/plexi panels into the bottom of the cage so we could use undertank heaters for substrate but this sound easier? And would the panels be able to withstand the weight of the sand we use as substrate?

Also would like to make the cages mobile, so was thinking of mounting castors/wheels underneath but would I need to then mount a small square on each bottom corner to attach the wheels?

soo many questions and more occurring every minute.

I have never used a RHP for a Bearded Dragon or Uromastyx. I don't know if there is a specific product that will get hot enough.

My favorite heat source for Bearded Dragons and Uromastyx's is Pearlco Ceramic Heat emitters. I have found them to be better at producing the super hot basking temperatures required by Bearded Dragons and Uros.

Pro Products might make a RHP that get's hot enough for a Bearded Dragon but I doubt they have one for a Uro.

Again, you don't need any type of substrate heater for either of these species. I hope the pet store didn't tell you this?

Overhead radiant heat sources, whether they be a ceramic heat emitter, RHP, or mercury vapor bulb all direct heat downwards which in turns heats up the substrate which in turn heats up the air. You don't need to heat the substrate twice.

Mounting casters to the bottom of a cage is no big deal. Even if you build the cage from glass you can build a rolling platform for it to rest on.

But I would not prefer an all glass cage for either of those species.
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Current snakes:

0.0.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - Java locale (green)

2.2 Gonyosoma janseni - Seleyar locale (all black)