Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am planning a cage that is made of 3 units that are each 4' wide x 2' deep x 18" tall. This will be made of 1/2" plywood. The 3 units will be stacked. Each unit will have the flexibility of becoming 2 cages by the addition of a divider. There is approximately 6" between each cage for cords, thermostat, ect. The wood I plan on staining and polyurethaning.

I have looked into RHP and they are awesome, but the capitol cost is high. I was curious if anoyone else has heated wooden cages from above (prefer this over belly heat) using heating cable or any other heat source (besides Ceramic heat emitters - don't want a hole in the top for humidity escape). Has anyone sandwiched a heat cable between plywood - is this a fire hazard? Or any other idea for creating a heat sync from above.

I think I have most other details worked out but need to nail this down before I can move on. Please help!

PS - I would be keeping ball pythons in one level, leopard geckos in another, and corn snakes in the third. Any other suggestions are appreicated.
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Jessica

0.1.0 Sharpei-Husky mix...all attitude
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
2.2.0 Corn Snakes
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos
2.2.0 Carrot-tailed Viper Geckos
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
...and a saltwater tank!

...i don't want to rain on your parade but you could use less space and save a ton of money by building a amall rack,just a thought.have fun!

Racks dont work so well if you want things to look pretty.

The only way of overhead heating I know of other than RHPs are heat lights. Problem is with only 18" of height you probably dont want to be making a false ceiling. Asside from RHPs the only other option is see is to instal a light fixture and a cage to cover it so no one gets burnt.
I dont like to do this because i dont like to have the light shining in my face when I look in, but i think if you built a solid box with a mesh bottom door and lined it with tinfoil it might solve the problem.

With such a short cage RHP are really the best way to go for overhead heat.
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- Jason F.

Thanks for the reply. I understand that the cage height is limited, but is there no way of using heating cable overhead? I figured someone has had to have experience with this. I have a small rack system right now and would like to only use the rack for babies. This rack system uses grooves notched out of the plastic floor to provide options for cable wiring. More cable more heat. Is there not something similiar someone has used with wood? Even on the floor of a cage? Like you said - I think bulbs are a bad idea. I am not a fan of that at all.
I like having display which is why I would like the cages versus te racks. But the RHP cost is almost $500 for the caging I want. That is a very high capital. Any other ideas?
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Jessica

0.1.0 Sharpei-Husky mix...all attitude
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
2.2.0 Corn Snakes
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos
2.2.0 Carrot-tailed Viper Geckos
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
...and a saltwater tank!

Well I am not against bulbs as I use them in my 4'x2'x2' boa cages.

But as far as your situation ... if you are willing to use belly heat instead of over head heat you could easily do that.
Simply cut out an area just slightly large then the heat tape you want to use and cover the hole with glass (siliconed around the edges). Then just put the heat tape under it.

Additionally what I plan to do for my larger female boa cages is to make the floor similar to a hollow core door. A wood frame with tile board skins. I will then use heat tape and foam insulation to better direct the heat up.

Overhead heat is really only accomplished by RHPs or blulbs/ceramic heat emiters. Belly heat is much easier and does not take up much room either. I think you will be best going with belly heat.
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- Jason F.