Reptile & Amphibian Forums

im not building a rack system, but just a couple sweater boxes, maybe like 2 or three. i have other setups but they have all been home made much lager setups, and i use heat lamps for them. but for these i am looking into heat tape, and i am not really sure i know what i am looking for.

i saw somewhere that you need like 50 watts for providing enough heat. but the 11" flexwatt is 20watts per foot, and i figure you woulndt use more than a foot (prolly less) for a sweat box. so i would thank based on that (possibly incorrect ) information that that would not be enough wattage. but then everybody uses it. so lets say room temp never drops below 65 F, would like 1 foot of 11" flexwatt on one side of the sweater box be enough for like 86-88 F in the box?

also i know someone who has a 20 long tank, and they use flexwatt on half the bottom of the tank and it heats fine. is this what they are doing, or are there different wattages of heat tape?

Im sure its asked a lot, but even after looking through a lot of posts im still a little confused.

I use human heat pads for a few of my cages. You can use 1 to heat 2 cages (I put it rolled up between two cages) and my snakes do great. You'll only want to mess with heat tape if you are heating a rack or a large number of cages. For less cages, it is probably more economical to use a heat pad or an undertank heater.
Justin J

maybe human heaters are a good option - but they get really hot and that kinda scares me.

as for UTH they are pretty expensive, so i was looking for somethign a little cheaper. but if im only doing 2 tubs that might be a good option...

Lets see, 2ft of 11-inch-wide Flexwatt and 2 clipsets.. about $16.00 or so (assuming clipsets are $4.00 each and heat tape is $4.00/ft, prices may be lower). Pretty good for two heaters. Anyway, yes, 1ft of Flexwatt is enough for a sweater box. Use a temperature controller though, cause heat tape can get 100 deg easy if the ambient air temp is 75 deg or more.

Remember with Flexwatt - you need to assemble the connections yourself. It takes some experience to do it perfect. You'll need a crimp tool to crimp the wire into the connector. You'll need pliers with a flat surface to clamp the connector onto the Flexwatt. For the latter, apply even pressure over the entire surface of the connector. If you don't, your connection will be intermitant, and then you'll wish you just bought heat pads.

I buy the heat pads that have the 3 settings. The lowest setting gives about a 90 degree hotspot on the side of the container, and works well for a thermal gradient.
Justin J