Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a built cage out of melamine. it is 17" by 48" it has a lexan door/front and it will be heated by flexwatt. i wanted to know if this is ok. Thanks

That should be fine (assuming it's more than just a few inches tall )

One question though - melamine heated by flexwatt, is it recessed into the melamine from the outside or what?

Solid cages like that are very hard to heat from the outside and do much better with a heat element inside. a Radiant Heat Panel (RHP) working the best IMO.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

thanks for the quick reply! the flexwatt is on the outside. it is 1/2" melamine. it is about 2 feet high. i want to have this all ready before he is big enough to move in.

Even at 1/2" melamine has a lot of thermal mass so more of the heat being generated will escape into the room than get into the cage where you want it.

I have 3/4" oak plywood cages heated with RHP's, all the heat is inside and is a nice gentle heat. IMO the best way to go with solid material (wood) cages. Wood is just not a good conductor of heat!!
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

From what I have read is that flexwatt is not to be used to heat through wood. Not sure if it is from safety (fire risk) or because wood does not pass through the heat very well.
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Mike

7.13 BRB
1.2 Spotted Python
1.0 Cal. King

my take is that the 1/2 inch is too thick, but there are a few ways around that. one is like dave sugested putting the RHP right inside the cage then the 1/2 mel works like insulation.

if you want to stick with the flexwatt there are a few thing you can do with that aslo, one is use a router and set the depth to 1/2"- 5/8" this will leave 1/8, 3/16, or 1/4" material that is easier to pass heat through, i think 3/16 would be perfect.

if you dont have a router drill four holes and with a jig saw cut out a rectangle hole of whatever size out of the floor, just get the sandpaper ready your gonna need it for that. what you can do from here (what the guy on the cage forum always suggest) is get a sheet of plastic to cover the entire floor inside. this is good because plastic, expanded pvc, is durable however if ever needed it can be taken out and replaced.

one thing you really have to be careful about with melamine is to take EVERY caution not to get the MDF core wet, or even damp... i made the mistake of not sealing ALL edges BEFORE assembly. i have edges that are banded inside my cages, and i made the mistake in thinking the edge banding glue will be enough to seal the edge, i also had all the inside seams caulked with silicone. what happened is the taped edges got wet and expanded, the expansion broke the silicone joint, add a spilled water dish and you have the perfect makings of disaster!!

so i highly recomend sealing every edge before even assembly, that MDF just falls apart if it gets wet. dont get me wrong its a great product and work great for the application as long as you can keep the core dry.
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-Stephen-
-Step-
-Steve Lightning-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
1.0 col redtail boa (Switch, formally known as Dixie)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Saphira)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--Brazilian rainbow boas
2 or 3 more? maybe a breeding trio or two pair
-- something for the wifey... my list got to big...

I use ceramic heat emitters inside my melamine cages. I have them controlled with a proportional thermostat and a dimmer. Full power to a ceramic heat emitter and it will be way too hot inside any cage where the animals can come in contact with the ceramic.

>>i have a built cage out of melamine. it is 17" by 48" it has a lexan door/front and it will be heated by flexwatt. i wanted to know if this is ok. Thanks

I'm currently building a cage setup for a boa. The bottom is made from melamine and I was already thinking the heat wouldn't penetrate from underneath. I was going to put a 10 inch x 10 inch piece of thin aluminum to put over top a heatpad inside the cage, then some type of substrate on top of all that. Aluminum won't hold heat and get too hot, it seems to distribute heat well. Thoughts?
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1 snow corn
1 redtail
1 baby BRB

Main thought that comes to mind is.....

Is the heat pad rated/designed for that usage? I believe flexwatt is not for use in a sandwiched type application, is ok (expected)to be against one solid surface but is supposed to have an air gap on the other.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

You are probably right, which is why i love this forum. I'll probably bust out a jigsaw and cut out the square in the melamine bottom..then mount the aluminum and place the heatpad under that.. Good call Dave.
-Jason
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1 snow corn
1 redtail
1 baby BRB

Any time!!!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

aluminium can corrode so why not use 1/4 inch glass cut to fit and silicone the edges. imo a radiant heat panel will be easier and safer in the long run. i use 9 panels from rbi and have no complaints. good luck