Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Do either of you guys remember a year or so back..(insert joke here).. someone had built a cage from pannels made of a wood frame, foam board an shower board covering both sides?
If so, do you remember what he heated the cages with? Do you think the 20 watt halogins that Markg uses to clean with would work or would there be a fire/ heat danger?
Thanks,
-Blue

I do not recall that particular instance.

I looked at using micro halogen lights in some racks I designed but it was the heat created for the inhabitants rather than the wood that created the issue. The rack design was similar to your suggested idea. wood frame surrounding a foam core with laminated panels of tileboard.

If I recall correctly the MSDS for the tileboard listed that spontaneous combustion occurred at 500°F. This was similar to all other particle / melamine boards manufactured by the same company, Georgia Pacific. I don't recall the exact temperatures but it was between 400° and 500°.

That being said I would trust the product at any reptile basking temp. But direct contact to the heat source would be of special interest. Of course there is always the fire hazard with any wood product.

The lights I looked at only got extremely hot at the element the overall housing stayed cooler. Remember these are deigned to be mounted beneath wood cabinets.

Cheers
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Jeremy Payne
JB Reptile
Specializing in Boa Morph's

1.0 Snow "Kahl"
0.2 Triple Het Moonglow "Kahl"
0.1 Orange Tail Hypo Het Leopard
1.1 Double Het "Sharp" Snow
1.0 Ghost
0.1 Possible Super Hypo
0.1 DH Ghost
1.1 "Kahl" Albino
1.0 Hypomelenistic
1.3 Pastel Hypo
0.1 Suriname/Columbian cross
0.1 Anerthrystic

Gotcha, thanks. I will test one out here in a few days. I was thinking of resesing the puck into the foam but leaving the top most shower board intact but with that heat I think I will just attach it in the cage and build a wire basket around it so there is no skin contact.
-Blue

I do not remember the specific post but believe I posted a few linkes to European sites where they had built terraria out of styrofoam panels (styroporterrarium). One of those links may have included the wood frame and shower board.

I would not attach a halogen lamp directly to the foam. I would want some sort of barrier on the top where heat sources would go.

If attached directly to the shower panel that would probably be okay.
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Currently keeping:

6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)

0.0.4 Rhynchophis boulengeri

1.1 Philodryas baroni

1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata

0.0.1 Rhamphiophis rubropunctatus

0.0.2 Morelia viridis (Aru & Merauke locale types)

1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback