Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am trying to keep my 4x2x2.5 vision cage around 80-90 during the day for tropical prehensile-tailed skinks. Right now there is a 100W CHE which barely gets it to 80. I am in Tucson and the ambient house temp is mid 70s right now. I just ordered a 250W CHE, but then afterward discovered that I must purchase a special wire-covered fixture for that?! Doh! I was planning on purchasing a dimmer switch at Home Depot to hook up to the 250W so that I didn't overheat the cage. Now I am thinking that an RHP would have been a way better choice! Double doh! But then I am unsure which one to get: 28, 40, 80, 120, or 160. I am guessing 120 or 160, but not sure.

Any thoughts? I am eventually hoping to do a closet conversion for these critters, so probably will be able to work in both the RHP and the CHE's into that. It does get chilly here in the winter and especially once the babies start coming I will need a very dependable steady temperature of 80-90 during the day and 70-80 at night.

A 250W CHE is definitely adequate for starting a rip-roaring house fire if any element in your control system fails! Yikes. I recommend a RHP.

If you call one of the bigger & better RHP dealers they can talk you through your specific situation. Your species, what temp gradients & ranges it needs, and then most importantly your cage: its dimensions, its materials, its ventilation, and its internal set-up (location of basking perches etc).

I don't know if it's kosher to do this here, but Pro Products gives top-notch customer service like this. (I don't have any financial, family, or any other interests in that company, I just think it's our collective "herper" responsibility to incentivize good behavior and disincentivize bad behavior in the hobby and supporting industry.)

Cheers,
Jimi

Duh, also should have mentioned insulation. Have you considered wrapping the cage in reflectix or something?

The usual heavy-hitters/heavy-lifters in this forum could probably be of more help here.

Cheers,
Jimi

Nice advice, right on.

For the original poster, do you need all of the cage warm, or is it one part, say 1/3 of the cage at 90 and the rest cooler.

In general, in a 4ft cage, if you want 2ft x 2ft warm, a 60watt panel should do it. If you insulate the cage a bit (and Visions are known for losing heat unless you insulate) then a 40 Watt may warm a 2ft x 2ft area.

The above is just a guideline. If your ambient temps change throughout the year, then of course the results will too. In general, buy as much heater as you will need during the coldest times your room sees.

Another option, use one RHP for the warm end and a smaller CHE for the cool end. When the weather is warm, turn the CHE off. When the room temps are cool, use the CHE in addition to the RHP. You can really control temps this way - 2 heaters are better than one big one in a large cage.
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Mark

Yes, having both a RHP and a CHE seems to be the way to go. So 60W would probably be about right? Except at Reptile Basics they go from 40 to 80. Reptile Basics does seem to be ideal over Big Apple's offerings... is there another good option? And Reflectix sounds perfect too. Argg about already buying the 250W CHE! I'm trying to think if it would ever come in handy down the road, maybe in a greenhouse set-up? No, I really need spread out heat for these guys, not a spot. They are not inclined to bask.

Regarding the RHPs and water... I need high humidity and there are daily rain showers. The Reptile Basics RHPs seem ideal and on the website it says VERY water resistant, just don't submerge it. So that sounds like it will provide the heat that I need and with the Reflectix holding the heat in the temperature should easily stabilize 80-90 in the day.

Off to try to repack that CHE for a return if possible!

You've received some good advice so far but I have a couple of things to add.

Definitely don't put the 250 watt CHE in the Vision or any other plastic cage but do consider keeping it for the closet conversion you mentioned.

Absolutely wrap the cage in Reflectix if you can. If you can set the caqe on a thick shelf made of plywood or particle board that will help too. You could set the cage on Reflectix but it will compress and not work as well. You could also set the cage on a sheet of rigid foam insulation board but technically that is against code just about everywhere.

Inrease the thermal mass below one of your radiant heat sources (depending on which way you go). A big rock below the heater is ideal. Combined with the Reflectix this will do wonders, maybe even to the point you won't need more powerful and/or addition heaters.

I went ahead and returned the CHE. I was thinking that whether I end up doing the closet conversion or building a greenhouse, panel-type heaters will be the way to go go since the animal is nocturnal and not prone to basking. I also bit the bullet and purchased the 80W RHP along with the Helix thermostat. I've got good basking spots 6-10" under the enclosure ceiling, one is a hollow grape log.

I like the idea of foam insulation board under the cage. I saw those big panels they sell and that would be great to set the cage on. Underneath is another Vision (4x2x1.5) with Schneider's skinks that are supposed to go no higher than 70 each day in the winter (which isn't happening anyway, but if I can get a heat barrier between the cages that would be good.) For now I put our car windshield sunblockers on top of the cage, shiny side down.
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Lisa Rakestraw
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My skinks:
1.1 Corucia zebrata (Berman and Joni)
2.3 Egernia striolata
2.2 Eumeces schneideri (Jack and Mabel; Kaa and Cochisa)

Hubby's snakes of the Southwest:
0.1 Lichanura orcutti (Rosie)
0.1 Lampropeltis pyromelana (Little Red)
0.1 Pituophis catenifer (Jennifer)
1.1 Bogertophis subocularis (Humphrey and Olive)
0.1 Lampropeltis alterna (Sandy)

The Reptile Basics model, the Bean Farm's models, Helix's and Boaphile's RHPs all use pretty much the same heater. Only the plastic housing varies. Humidity is no problem with these. Any and all will work.

Keep in mind, RHPs and CHEs heat objects below. Kind of like a bright sunny cool day - the air can be cool but the sidewalk can be warm. However, in a closed cage, the air starts to heat up too because the substrate below eventually radiates the heat it absorbs (as long as the cage is insulated to a point.)

My guess is that a 40 watt RHP plus a CHE (or any incandescent bulb for that matter) will work. Just a guess based on what I've seen here at my house. The Reflectix (or even sheet styrene foam) is a cheap way to really boost the heat when the air temps in the room get cold. I highly recommend insulation vs tons of wattage.
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Mark

I have a 2x6x1.5 cage (not vision, its 1/2" plywood) but my 40 watt RHP will put a over 100 hot side if i want it to. I use a dimmer and turn it down 1/2 way to get high 80s.

Glad you guys are emphasizing insulation. I hate to be so wishy-washy, but I actually ended up cancelling the 80W Helix order, only because of immediate money needs. (#'_'#)

But now I'm kinda glad because I was able to boost the heat slightly with some added insulation and an added spot light. I know that RHP thermostat is the way to go eventually and that's good to know.

I will probably end up building both the closet conversion and the greenhouse--with my unlimited funds! (^_^) But right now I am building them in my head and it is essential to know everything before I build it!

So is $250 a good price to pay for a thermostat heat panel night drop cord? I can't help thinking that I could somehow rig the same thing up for way less!

>>So is $250 a good price to pay for a thermostat heat panel night drop cord? I can't help thinking that I could somehow rig the same thing up for way less!

You're talking at least two and possibly three different items at the same time....

Thermostat - single application I'd prefer Herpstat ND (built in night drop) Dual application in relative close proximity - Herpstat II, three or four applications in relative close proximity - Herpstat Pro Have seen them in the classifieds here on KS

Heat Panel - the actual heat element, several options, I like Pro-Products because they will work with you on selecting the right one.

Night drop cord - some thermostats do not have night drop built in but have an optional cord to tell the unit when it's night. I really prefer the units with built in night drop!!!

And yeah, should not be $250!! Closer to $200 (depends on size/expense of RHP)
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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 (05/26/2009):
36.51 BRB
29.42 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats