Reptile & Amphibian Forums

lol sorry guys but yes i am anothe cabinet maker/carpenter/doityourselfer... and yes i want to build my own cages....sorry...

okay now for thoses or you who are actually still reading at this point i would like to pick your brains, get a little input on HEATING. my plan is to buils a cabinet with 4 levels of caging about 4'l by 2'deep by anywhere from 12"to 16" tall all with removible dividers.

allright now that i have a couple 4x2' and a few 2x2' melimine cages i have to heat them from the inside..... i see alot of heat tape and pads. can these be use on the INSIDE of the cage stuck to the bottom with news paper of disposible liner over it, or is a layer of substrate needed?... also is that enough to keep the whole cage warm, or is that only to be used in addition with another source (if so what source)

if a can run a length of heat tape or two in eace cage covered with a disposible liner and obtain the right hot spot, cool side and ambient tep that would make it easy. only thing is i dont know if it will

so if anyone else would care to share thier methods of heating, that might help me out i would be greatful.

thanks alot

I've got the material and plans to build basically the same thing, rack-type cages (bookshelf style). But I don't like belly heat and seriously doubt I'll use any type of it. I'll most likely use protected ceramic heating elements in each cage.

Most, if not all, heat tapes & heat pads require more than a simple layer of paper or liner to guard against excessive heat. Most setups I've seen using these consist of routing out a section within the cage floor for the heat tape or pad and then cover the whole floor with something like 1/4 inch sintra, expanded pvc, etc...

Another possible heat source is something like Kane mats. It's been a long time since I've looked into them & I don't remember how much/thick of a covering they recommend for their use.

I personally would use a dimmer switch or rheostat with each cage's heat source for ease of adjusting. The cages above the very bottom cage will get some heat from the cage below and won't need to run at the same output. These can be mounted in a type of cabinet on one end of the cage stack or mounted to the outside of the end wall.

With the use of dimmer switches/rheostats it's possible to run a stack of cages with one good thermostat after some experimenting for proper probe placement.

Hope this helps!

Have a good one!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

hey thanks for the reply,

yeah it great to hear about and see other peoples ideas, let us all know how ya make out with that and dont be afraid to take a few pictures either heh heh heh. thats exactly what im thinking a nice cabinet bookshelf design caging stack. boamaster built one similar to what i have in mind, very similar actually. im getting a few really good ideas for the whole thing myself only im still gonna be a month or two befor i get started (my piggy bank is anorexic).

so i hear only good things about these CHPs and it sounds like its not only the "way to go" but "the only way to go". I would love to be able to use these however the piggy bank might prevent me from doing that... its hard to spend 70-90$ on one heating unit when 40-50 worth of heat tape might do it all... only problem is that word might, i dont know if it will or not.

as far as the belly heat goes im not to fond of the idea of cutting it into the floor (thats prolly me just being me). i would allmost rather padding up the floor and making like an inch to inch and a half step or shelf for the heat to go under on half or a third of the cage. but i am leaving both as options.

either way i chose i will end up wireing them all to dimmers for sure, not sure if ill use thermos' or rheos'. i see a nice looking infrared heat gun for like 25$ in the classifides if i get that and just check temps alot i bet just a dimmer would be enough what do ya think.

i did see those kane mats and those looked good only alot more expencive than i would have thaugh and if i do spend that much on heating i will use the CHPs for sure.

one other thing is that even though i plan on having 4-8 cages (depending on how many dividerer i use) right now i only have 3 snakes. if i use CHPs i dont have to buy them all right now.... same with heat pads or tape, unless of corse i cut it into the cages then i will have to. i could also use CHPs for my boa and heat tape for the others corn snakes and balls. lol now there are too many options im way to indecicive for this!!

sorry i kinda went on a tangent there for a min... anyways i still have plenty of time to decide but i do like getting as much outside input for this kinda thing as i can. thanks for sharing