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Hello!

I'm just about done building a new cage for my leopard geckos. The cage is 2x2x2 and is divided in half. So the each section is only twelve inches high but has a 2x2 floor space. I hope that makes sense : ) I poked around the hardware store while I was getting the materials for the cage in hopes that I would find a cheap small light fixture. I was thinking about heating the cage with two heat bulbs, one for day and one for night. I didn't find anything so now I'm thinking about switching over to a heat mat. Has anyone ever used "Intellitemp Heat Mats"? I can't use regular heat mats since the mats need to actually be in the cage and the Kane heat mats are way out of my budget! Any other ideas for rigging up a light fixture that won't take up too much room would be great as well.

Intellitemp Heat Mat

why not just use flexwatt?

Pitoon
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It's my understanding that flexwatt is better for racks. I need something that can go inside the cage and sit directly on wood. If flexwatt would work for this then I would definitely use it...

I wouldnt use flexwatt in a cage

That's why I was looking at these heat mats. Do you have any experience or have you heard anything about them?
Intellitemp Heat Mat

No i've never used any of the heat pads. I'm a big fan of RHPs.

I'm using those for my big snake cage but these two cages are only 2x2 and 12 inches high. And they're in the house which is usually around 70 degrees. So I think a RHP would be a bit much : )

what's the difference between flexwatt or a heat pad???

they both produce heat. both need to be on a thermostat.

for the cage just recess the area where you want heat. tape the flexwatt in place and put a piece of plexiglass on top of it or even a ceramic tile....finished.

flexwatt and RHP's can't even compare to the amount of energy that is needed to operate.

i would rather save money on electric.

Pitoon
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>>what's the difference between flexwatt or a heat pad???
>>
Well, for inside a cage, Flexwatt is not electrically sealed at the connection point. It would be up to the user to do that, and this could be a safety issue for the animal inside.

Under a cage, not too much difference except one that I know of - when the room is cool or there is airflow over the Flexwatt, when the controller has the power off, Flexwatt cools faster than the thicker heat pads like Intellitemp. So actually, the Intellitemp spends more time not powered on compared to Flexwatt. But I'm splitting hairs here. Also, a shelf in a cold room sucks more heat from Flexwatt than from a heat pad like Intellitemp, if the heater rests on the shelf.
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Mark

Flexwatt should not be used inside a cage.

The Intellitemp would be just fine inside. It has more physical insulation and is sealed. A better choice inside a cage.

If you did put in light fixtures (incandescent), you could use 30 Watt Pearlco ceramic heat emitters to heat the cages. Those work great for leopard geckos. However, in this case with the lizards being of small mass and only requiring a relatively small heated area, using a 7 or 8 watt heat pad would be easier on your electric bill and effectively get the job done.

If I were you, I would get three heat pads. One for each of the two cages and a third (placed somewhere in the room) as the control heater where you place the controller probe. Plug all three into the controller output receptacle. Yes you can, we are only talking at most 30 watts.
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Mark

>Flexwatt should not be used inside a cage.

Flexwatt can be used inside of a cage if set up properly. I know that you are a fan of RHP's just as i'm a fan of Flexwatt. if one has the time to set it up properly the savings in costs as well as consumption in electric still can't be beat.

The flexibility of flexwatt is what makes it so great.

now there's alot of variables that comes into play....heated room...insulated room...size of cage..etc... RHP's will/can work better in certain situations and vice versa for flexwatt.

bottom line is that a small RHP (cost and energy consumption) will still be higher than a 1ft piece of flexwatt.

"Liquid Tape" can do wonders........

Pitoon
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You're replying to the wrong person. I said i like RHPs. Mark said not to use flexwatt in a cage. I'm sure you can set it up so it would be safe but it would take a lot of work and I still don't know if I would trust it. If you have a big spill and everything isn't sealed perfectly you could end up with a fried snake. Even if you had it sealed perfectly what is to say it will stay that way. Most materials shrink and expand with TEMPATURE changes.

So someone else here has used it for Flexwatt, lol. Still holding my ground for not advising people to put it inside a cage. There are those who have enough experience or know-how to seal Flexwatt and install it inside a cage. And they will do so in an empty cage and test it out awhile. Maybe put a fuse in-line then spill some water on the substrate, etc.

I'm here to scare away folks from doing something they aren't ready for or from exposing their animals to an untested version of their in-cage install.
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Mark

yeah i completely understand what you mean. anything can be done really......just need to know what you are doing.

Pitoon

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>>yeah i completely understand what you mean. anything can be done really......just need to know what you are doing.
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>>here's a pic of a strip i wired up long ago. had more pics but this is all i could find and upload to my site quickly. sorry for the size....no time to re-size it.
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>>Pitoon
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>>
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>> Homepage
>> My BLOG
>> 2010 European Shows
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Mark

Thanks everybody! For now I figured out how to rig up the lights inside the cage. I might order the heat mats from Big Apple when I get back I haven't decided yet. Thanks again for the responses everyone!