Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I will be building a very small rack here soon and decided the best way to heat it would be heat rope. I was wondering approx. how wide the rope is so I can plan accordingly. Thanks in advance.

About 3/16" in diameter for some, and up to just a hair under 1/4" in diameter for others. Generally, a 1/4" channel is good. Depending on the size of the heated area you desire, you will make multiple passes on each shelf.

I urge you to get the heater before you cut grooves. You want the heater to be as close to the shelf surface as you can.

I've tried routing a groove for aluminum channel and then feeding the heat rope through that. The heat rope I used did not have a high enough watt-density, and so the aluminum just stayed warm but not warm enough to heat the box effectively.

I keep about 1 1/2" between runs of the heater. That heats gently. For baby boxes (the only thing I rack), I've done 2 passes for colubrids and 3 to 4 for pythons and boas. That seems to work out well.
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Mark

I use rope LIGHT that is now easy to find at home depot. The lengths are variable, the temps constant even if the bulbs go out, and they are pretty much waterproof. Problems occur depending on the material being heated, and multiple passes are needed for boids but I house even adult kings with a single pass. Of course my cages are stacked, so they actually get a little heat from the top as well. If you have wc animals they usually need more cover, but cb animals do great in units like this one,Jeff...ps, rope light is about 1/2" with connectors about 7/8".