Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So- my last experience, a few weeks ago- burned a hole in a tub, the rack, the flexwatt, and burned one snake- and got another stoned....

tonights experience- was cleaning one of the burmese cages out- we have the flexwatt on the floor of the cage, with a piece of plexyglass about an inch above it on little wood stands.

We pulled the plexy off and cleaned it, removed the flex and cleaned it. I put it back in the cage and when i went to put the other strip in, the first strip zapped me....

It was a bad connection- the wire was frayed where the little clip attaches to the metal strip of the flex....

when i jumped, i tore the other piece of flexwatt....

so if anyone wants 4 feet of messed up flexwatt- its going to the curb.

ugh.

not my month for reptiles i guess-

Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

You have the flex watt in the burms cage where it can come in contact with urine, feces, etc? No wonder it shorted. You don't use this inside the cage.
Where you running a t-stat with the flexwatt that burned the rack and tubs?

Steve, Have you ever owned a snake for more then 3 months? Besides the (new morph)? Until then STFU!!
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http://www.myspace.com/jasballpythons

"we have the flexwatt on the floor of the cage, with a piece of plexyglass about an inch above it on little wood stands."
so no it doesnt come into contact with anything. and my post below in referance to the racks.

im lovin my ceramic heat emitters, i have them hooked up to a herpstat pro i got from glk herp its amazing dont know how you can work it with a rack.i have my small bloods in them and im sure you could stack that pretty high, the best part is the ceramich heat emitter s act like a heat pad for the cage above it. so it works great for the snakes and they are 29 gallons tanks with wood lids i made all it took was a 4x2 sheet of plywood a drill, jigsaw and measurin tape but i used 1/2 in birch ply its a little thin i would recomend 3.4 or inch . i ike this more than racks beacuase i can see my snakes without bothering them. i would highly recomend this i love it.

ok-
The flex- as already clarified by someone else- (thank you) is not directly on the floor- and it is covered so it doesn't come in contact with any fecal matter or dumped water buckets.

The rack issue- it was hooked up to a tstat- which was/is funcioning fine- i posted about it when it happened. The spot that burned was a hot spot. I used the temp gun and everywhere around the burned area was at the correct temp. The probe for the tstat just wasn't placed in the EXACT 6" area where the hot spot occured.

the flexwatt piece that shorted had a loose connection where it attached to the metal band inside the flexwatt- i got the strips pre-wired from an exotics store about 3 hours south of me and i've had the strip for about a year now.
I inspect my heaters and cords well and cage cleaning is when i do it-
it bothers me greatly that these things don't come with an auto-shut off when theres a wire problem.

There really is no fool-proof way of ensuring theres no problem with your flexwatt. I bought an expensive tstat- and still had a flexwatt problem. I bought pre-wired flexwatt from a reliable source and with a years worth of light use- the wire is loose- and shocking me?!

As for a different tstat- i will be needing another one soon and i will look at new models- thanx!

beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

HERPSTAT PRO i just got mine a couple days ago real pricy 350 with shipping but well worth itits amzing 4 different probes controls nd displays 4 different temps at the same time can even send text message and emails in case of an emergency that softwarfe is 70$ though has an audible hi temp low temp alarm. i have my four cages running exact temps in each cage amzing best 350 i ever spent(oh and im pretty illiterate when it comes to electronics took me 10 minutes to set up)

350$ is pricey but compared to what is at risk... well worth it.
I am off to find thier website now.
I'd been thinking something with more than one probe would be great.... that sounds perfect...

Hubby is going to K-I-L-L me though... we just spent almost 1k at animal plastics for racks- we're building some with our heat cable idea but we need something NOW (actually we needed something about 6 months ago) so we splurged and got some AP cheap-o racks.

Thanks for the tstat reccomendation!

Beth
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

You'll want a Herpstat on the AP rack. The cable gets VERY hot if not controlled.

The PRO is $319 shipping. Since it is essentially 4 thermostat's in one, you're getting a great price. $80 each broken down.

The Herpstat ND is the same as the PRO, but controls one cage/rack instead of 4. That is $135.

A Helix DBS1000 is $145 (no built in night drop, less features).

The Helix, and original Herpstats are all great, but the PRO is better, and broken down cheaper!
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http://www.GilbertBoas.com/
http://www.BoaList.com/

Sorry to hear about your racks.

Recessed Heat Cable has been working great for me for over two years in Melamine and MDF racks.
If you are interested in pics of what I have setup I'd be happy to send them with more info.

many snakes do you have set up this way?
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Happy Herping,
Jody Barnes
Royal Kreationz

My snakes aren't fat, they're big boned.

I've used Flexwatt for many years on many racks... never a problem. It's not the flexwatt, it's the clips. They're worthless! I never use them. I solder the wires to the flexwatt then seal it. Again... It's not the flexwatt, it's the clips.

"i got the strips pre-wired from an exotics store"
That was your second mistake. I don't mean to be harsh, but that's kinda like taking a sick snake to an electrician for advise. It doesn't make sense. If you want to try flexwatt again, next time find an electrician to wire it... not someone who plays with snakes. It's not hard or complicated... but it is electricial wiring!

Just a thought
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Larry Walker

WebSite

>>I've used Flexwatt for many years on many racks... never a problem. It's not the flexwatt, it's the clips. They're worthless! I never use them. I solder the wires to the flexwatt then seal it. Again... It's not the flexwatt, it's the clips.
>>
>>"i got the strips pre-wired from an exotics store"
>>That was your second mistake. I don't mean to be harsh, but that's kinda like taking a sick snake to an electrician for advise. It doesn't make sense. If you want to try flexwatt again, next time find an electrician to wire it... not someone who plays with snakes. It's not hard or complicated... but it is electricial wiring!
>>
>>Just a thought
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>>Larry Walker
>>
>> WebSite
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Charles Glaspie

np

Larry,

How do you seal the connection? I have wrapped mine in electrical tape, but had a connection come loose and spark. Do you use something other than electrical tape?

Thanks.

Remember that in order to solder the connection, a small portion of the plastic coating must be removed. I've used both a shrink-wrap plastic and an epoxy. I make sure that the insulated portion of the wire is included. That reinforces the connection.

But, if your not comfortable or familiar with soldering, I recommend you have it done by an electrician or electronics savvy person. I grew up with relatives who were electricians and electronic geeks. LOL

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Larry Walker

WebSite

Yep, I removed the plastic portion and soldered the wire to the wire. Then, I just wrapped the connection in electical tape. I like the idea sealing it with epoxy. Thanks.

Here's a link to one company's version of liquid electrical tape. There are several companies that make a similar product. It's my understanding the Radio Shack sells it also. I'm not sure how well it will work on flexwatt, but it might be worth a try.

Liquid Electrical Tape
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Louis Kirkland
Cornerstone Reptiles

Welcome to the dark side - lol - flexwatt sucks - since switching all my racks and cages over to rope and panels I am so much happier.
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Tosha
JET Pythons