Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, so I have decided to make a wooden enclosure for my guyana boa. My dilema is providing belly heat, I have the basking spot and ambient heating covered. I was thinking of making the common rectangular design all wood except for the front (plexiglass) and partially screened top. If i placed a strip of flexwatt tape on the bottom and then placed a piece of tempered glass about 1/8 to 1/4 inch above the flexwatt would this work? I have it worked out in my mind as providing direct heat to the glass as well as being venilated. Would i need to provide any more ventilation holes in the wood by drilling or would the 1/8-1/4 inch gap do it? Also, I would be using a loosley packed substrate. I'm hoping to begin construction tomorrow so any insight or ideas would be greatly needed and appreciated....thx

I forgot to mention the floor will be melamine or similar.

My advice to you is to not put Flexwatt inside the cage on top of the melamine covered with glass. Just wait until you have to clean around that. You will hate it. Plus there is a danger.

With a large boid, if you put Flexwatt inside a cage, it had better be sealed against moisture and abrasion. One method is to seal it in plastic. Of course, you can buy such a device already done for you - Kane heat mats. See www.beanfarm.com and look for Kane mats.

Personally, there is a very easy way to heat a boa cage: Use a radiant heat panel. Yes they cost $60 or so, but they solve your problem, are super easy to install with no cage mods and are safe as long as you use a dimmer or other temperature controller and they last 10 years easily.

And finally, if you really want to, you can heat through melamine, meaning Flexwatt under the floor of the cage. On cool days it may not be very effective, but the rest of the time it will work. Use spacers to elevate the cage about 3/16" and tape Flexwatt to the underside using aluminum tape or Velcro.
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Mark

If you have a basking spot and ambient heat covered, why do you want or need belly heat, especially with a substrate?

If you really need it, then skip the melamine and build the floor from whatever you are using for the rest of the cage.

Then cut a rectangle from the floor that is about 2" wide and longer than the size of the heat tape you plan to use. Make sure to keep this cutout away from the walls of the cage as to not interfere with screws, nails etc.

Next, seal you cage with what you had planned to use.

Now get a piece of Sintra or other expanded PVC and cover the entire cage floor with it. Probably 1/4". Any thicker and it won't transmit heat as well. Any thinner may be too flexible.

Heat tape can now be attached directly to the underside of the PVCX with the appropriate aluminum foil tape. Route/cut a groove for the cords to run out the back of the cage.

The approach makes for a more durable and easier to clean cage. It also increases the safety with the air space.

Or you can do something like what I used to do and build your cage without a solid floor and just use silicone and staples to attach a plastic sheet directly to the rim of the cage. This saves money and weight and if built correctly is structurally sound.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephala (Javan, mixed colors)

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

one concern i have for you is a problem i dealt with for several phases of design for the cages i built. belly heat is great, but i dont think it is that necessary for larger constrictors. i only keep BCI and BCC and have never had any problems with ambient heat being provided from heat tape on the back wall (hidden behind plastic pegboard for ventilation). the problem i was speaking of is urine or defecation making its way into the ventaltion beneath your glass and baking onto the heat tape. not only does it create an aweful smell, it is a huge fire risk. i know and work with melamine on all my cages and is flame retardant on the surface, but if you get beneath that plastic coating and into the wood, it burns quickly and without notice. if you would like, email me for some tips (theredtailroom@aol.com).
Good luck,
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Pete Walton
The Redtail Room