Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone. Can someone please give me an idea what changes in temp over room temp I can expect in a melamine rack with either 11 or 4 inch Flexwatt in either back or belly position? I thought maybe someone had gone through the mess of figuring it out and wouldnt mind sharing. Thanx for any help you can give, Dave
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2.1 bay of la rosy boas
0.0.8 kenyan sand boas
3.2 ball pythons
1.0 central american boa
1.9 leopard geckos
1.0 convict cali king
1.0 banana cali king
1.3 albino cali king
1.0 greyband king

Belly heat position will give you whatever temp the tape is. Back heat position depends on the ambient air temp, the rack construction, even ambient humidity. No one can tell you for sure. In any case, use a dimmer or temp controller if using flexwatt under cages or else you'll have melted boxes and burned animals.

Thanks, the reason I was wanting to know what temps are being acheived is that I am trying to decide between building racks in my basement , or building a room. I am currently heating the whole basement, and keeping an ambient temp of about 74*, and making up the difference in my aquariums with lots of different methods. Definitely a pain in the rear. And i dont really like having my basement that warm, I do alot of work down there and personally prefer a temp of about 65*. So the question is which is the better idea, build a room and heat only it with a standalone heater and add a humidifier or heat the whole basement and build racks to make up the difference with heat-tape. Either way i can do the construction myself, so the cost is really just in the materials. Any opinion? Thanx, Dave
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2.1 bay of la rosy boas
1.0.8 kenyan sand boas
3.3 ball pythons
1.0 central american boa
4.9 leopard geckos
3.3 assorted cali king
1.0 greyband king

Yes I have some opinions. Seeing your animal list - the boa and pythons - makes me think a heated room is the way to go actually. Then, you only need a strip of Flexwatt under the cages as a basking spot. Trust me when I say a heated room makes things a whole lot easier when keeping boas and pythons. I don't have a heated room, and when Winter comes I've got to Flexwatt and heat cable the heck out of my cages housing boas and pythons just to keep it warm enough for them. One little strip doesn't do the job in a cold room. Where boas and pythons come from (well with some exceptions), the ambient air doesn't drop much below 74 or so, at least not for very long. Just having a room with that background temp would make things easier.

On the flip side, if you build a new room, make sure it stays cool enough in summer.

Thgan
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2.1 bay of la rosy boas
1.0.8 kenyan sand boas
3.3 ball pythons
1.0 central american boa
4.9 leopard geckos
3.3 assorted cali king
1.0 greyband king