Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What are your thoughts on head pads on wood? My Ball Python enclosure has a wood bottom. is there a fire hazard there?
Foot Hill Reptiles

Not a fire hazard when kept at herp-related temperatures, but not a good idea in any case.

Wood cages insulate well, so heating from above is a great option. If you are bent on heating with a heat pad, I suggest putting one inside the cage.

You can get an Ultratherm heat mat for example, tape it or use velcro to attach it to the bottom of a piece of ceramic tile or a piece of expanded PVC (you can get PVC scraps at sign shops plenty big enough for a ball python) and put that in the cage. Works a whole lot better than heating through wood. Use some spacers to elevate the assembly off the cage floor just a little bit if using a substrate like newspaper or kraft paper.
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Mark

Ok sounds good. It is not possible to heat this enclosure from above as there is another like sized closure on top of it. I can put the pad inside. I €even have some slate scraps so I can put some on the floor, put the pad on top of them then another layer of slate on the pad. thanks for the reply.
Foot Hill Reptiles

Radient heat panels work very well in wooden enclosures. The wood works well as an insulator so the upper cage does not get much affect from the lower cage. Even more so when they are seperate units - two thicknesses of wood.

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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

Wow, that is some elaborate setup for breeding goldfish.. lol

Is that 2" dia PVC pipe connecting the cages? Can a large rainbow boa fit through that?

I've been using PVC pipe pieces for snake hides lately. The colubrids choose those over anything else. Would like to do the same for a Hog Island boa. 2" works for him now, but not for long I imagine.

Do you know if the black ABS pipe sold for sewer lines is safe for animals? ABS is in general, but I don't know if those pipes are coated with something else.
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Mark

Yeah but they're such pretty goldfish!!!

That's 4" dia pvc pipe and yeah that is large enought for full grown BRB's. I used to have 3" and one got stuck. she was fine but I had to dismantle the tubes. Once I switched over to 4" have not had any problems.

I stick with the white as it's rated for clean water. The black is for sewer lines and like you said, dunno if it's got nasty stuff in the plastic. Probably just fine but why take the chance.
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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

Fish keepers use black ABS pipe frequently and they consider it safe. You might go read some fish forums just for your own peace of mind, however.
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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

>>Fish keepers use black ABS pipe frequently and they consider it safe. You might go read some fish forums just for your own peace of mind, however.
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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
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Mark