Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just built the rack on ballpython.ca(http://www.ballpython.ca/The%20Rack.htm) I ran 11" heat tape vertically down the back and my temps are not up to par. Ambient room temp is 75-78 the basking spot is not much over 80.
I checked the heat tape before I installed it and it was 110. I am not sure why I am not getting more heat. Would more vent holes in the back of the tubs help? I have some spare 3" heat tape should I install it to? I am at a loss. Thanks in advance for any help.

pictures.

I've never been a big fan of back heat.
I always run my heat tape on the shelves so that they
have a nice warm spot to lay. I think the only real
way to make back heat work is if you also control the
temperature of the room (and you can keep it at ~75-80).
Note: You should always make sure that you don't have
any surface in the cage that is warmer than ~95 (and of
course they should always have a cooler spot to go to
if they like). Hope that helps.

ChrisS - SanJose

I built the same rack and have the same problem as you with the heat not being up to par. Wish I had a answer for you but I don't. I'm going to another rack with belly heat. I guess the only thing you can do is control the room temp like Chris said.
BT

If you've used 1/8" peg board for the back (or something similar) you're going to lose heat out the back. I found that using the same 5/8" melamine for the back keeps the heat in. You can get a hot spot 2" from the back wall of the bin to be a nice 93F or higher... but over 80F for sure.
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I have my heat tape on about 3/4 of the way on a rheostat, and the back end of my rack cages are 95F. I insulated the back, so there's only ONE way for the heat to go. You can't run the heat tape down the back on the outside of the rack either. Its has to be on the inside, touching the Rubbermaids. Run insulation down the back and partial sides and there is simply no where for the heat to escape to!
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Thanks for the help Jeff. If I can ask, what do you use to insulate the back? I used the peg board w/o holes and of couse my tape is on the inside. I'm going to replace the peg board with the melamine back but I want to insulate it as well. Your all ways full of good info and it is much appreciated.
BT

Wood is "kind of" a good isnsulator, bit not really. It absorbs heat. You need something that will REPEL the heat. And for this, you have to either use styrofoam slabs (cheapest method) or aluminum-coated insulation. Any lumber yard has it. Its not terribly expensive. But this stuff doesn't let the heat through, and more importantly, doesn't heat up itself. Therefore, the heat stays trapped at the back of the rack like a hot-damn!! Its awesome! And my racks are only made out of 1/2-inch plywood! So there's NO R-value there at all. Its ALL about the insulation slabs!

Best of luck. Keep us updated.

...

In addition to the other suggestions, another thing to factor in is the placement of the rack. If it is installed against an exterior wall, you might gain an additional 5 or 6 degrees by moving it to an interior wall. I have racks with both back and under-shelf heat, and I really prefer the belly heat.

-Joan

First off, like Tim and Jeff said, you have to have a solid back with the rubbermaid butted up against the heat tape. I run dozens of racks this way with no problem. I have my thermostat turned down and I still reach high temps.

The other problem might be your room size. If you are depending soley on the heat tape to heat the room and you have just a few racks, then you are defeating the purpose. I would suggest using an oil filled heater to heat the room (82-84 F)and allow the heat tape to concentrate on one job only...heating the rack.

In addition I have had several people e-mail me or display pictures of my rack that they built with modifications. Instead of having a solid side wall they have run two braces up the sides allowing for the rack to be wide open and exposed, therefore allowing all the heat to escape before it has a chance to build up. The original design has a purpose and intent with the solid side walls. It hold the heat and creates a deep dark cavity in which the snakes can hide. I do not have one hide box in use in any of my racks as a result.

I have been using this design for 3 years now with tremendous success. Sorry for your problems, but hopefully a few modifications will correct them.

Can you please post a pic?

MJ
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Thanks for all the answers. I built the rack exactly as described on Markus's website. I used pegboad as a backing. It covers almost the entire back, there is probaly a 1" gap. The rubbermaids are right up against the heat tape. I checked temps again this morning and they are a bit better, 90 right at the back of the rack, but the temp drops right after that. I think I may rewire the heat tape for belly heat. If I do that I will have 10 cords and that's one reason I liked the idea of running the tape vertically. Any Ideas on how to run belly heat without wiring each rack space separtely? I do really like the design of the rack( Thanks to Markus Jayne) just having this heat problem.

I'm one of the ones who built the rack with the two supports (Had to do with the materials I had available) so I don't have the deep pocket Markus Jayne says you need. I had trouble with my heat because of it. I finally got some foil insulation ($13 for a roll that was enough to do 3 racks and have leftover)at the hardware store. Take the heat tape off the back, put on the insulation, then put the heat tape on that. The foil insulation is thin, it keeps the heat IN the rack, and it conducts the heat all the way across for a nice even heat in the back of the tub.

Worked for me. Good luck!
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Cheryl Marchek
AKA JM
Check out my website at:
The Red Dragons Den

you have things under control. But also try to close those 1 inch gaps.

You also mentioned using peg board. Is it the board with the holes?

MJ
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You don't have to wire each shelf separately Just take one super long (I used 15ft) extension cord and wire each shelf starting from the bottom, and go up, up, up and link the wire so you have one cord with each side going up on each side. (Each extension cord is composed of 2 wires combined) There's a website, here I'm bad with explaining stuff.
http://www.dozierstudio.com/ladderrack.html
S'got photos for wiring and such. Tell us how it went.
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Violette Garcia
www.shakahnsgrove.com (Coming Soon!)
Yes I know it's in webmaster's 'shop'.