Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i was wondering how do most of u guys keep ur energy bill down...i keep like about 30 pythons and my bill is pretty high...i heard about using a porpotionate thermostat...is this going to reduce the usage?...and does the size of the heat pad make a difference...thanx for any tips on saving and conserving energy...

I had a huge drop this season by switching from heat tape (flexwatt) to heat cable - cut my bill to about one third what it has been in the past and I've got more tubs to heat.
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Tosha

Heat cable is like what comes with professionally built racks, right? My AP racks have them. Do you build your own racks? How do you attach the heat cables to them? Dig out that strip in the shelf where the cable sinks into? I figured that was a pretty complicated extra step that most people don't take when building their own. I'm going to be building a few of my own very soon. That's why I'm asking. I'd much rather use heat cable over Flexwatt anyway, but even more if it saves on electricity too. I'm not exactly a carpenter, so it should be fun to see how this lttle project turns out.

You can router out a grove in the shelf for it and use a dab of aquarium glue or tape to help hold it into place (it will sit pretty well on without it tho). I've seen plenty of people that just drill a couple of holes in the side of the rack and thread it through the sides (same as they would with small flexwatt)and slide their tubs right over the stuff! I guess either would work and it would depend on how much work you want to put into it!

Good luck!

BTW: Did that girl lay yet?
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Tosha

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Can you please give a link or suggestion where to buy heat cable? Tx.

Also, do you need a rheostat w/ cable?

came with heat cable so you might be able to get it from them.
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"Can't you just feed it vegetables"? No, no I can't you stupid hippie.

Sorry I didn't get back to ya sooner - there are a lot of places where you can buy it - Zoo Med makes a heat cable in various lengths that you can pick up just about anywhere - I've even seen it at Petco. Most herp supply shops have the cable in one form or another - Big Apple carries it in a bunch of different lengths. I know Vision and Boaphile use the stuff in their racks so you might be able to ring them up for some or find out where they get it!
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Tosha

expense (@ $20,000.00), solar panels could save you thousands in the long run depending on the weather conditions where you live. If it is too stormy you will have to replace or repair your roof too often and that will cost more. Also the instilation (and usage) is subsidized via tax write-offs. Another option is one of those manual crank generators and some battery packs. Unless you want to get off the grid to some degree your pretty much stuck with relatively a high bill though.
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"Can't you just feed it vegetables"? No, no I can't you stupid hippie.

A combination of proportional thermostats and low-wattage flex-watt works well. Most flexwatt that people use is high wattage, much more than you should ever need. If you didn't specifically buy low-wattage or get your cages/racks from someone who specified they use low-wattage it is likely you have high-wattage heat. That would be the big killer.

Wind mills work well too!