Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm going to use FlexWatt heating tape for a wooden display cabinet that I'm going to build. Basicly, I'm going to build a wooden box with a shelf in the middle so I can have two tanks in the cabinet. Where would experianced FlexWatt users recommend I attach the heat tape? I was thinking about attaching it to the inside left wall near each tank. But I wasn't sure if attaching it to wood would be safe. Also should I not install a back wall to the cabinet, so there is more ventilation for the FlexWatt?

Any advice would be appreciated.
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-JayDog-
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2 Leopard Geckos (Conan & Red Sonja)

I have used flexwatt in direct contact with melamine. Its almost like wood but has a white covering over the wood. The thing you want to remember when using Flexwatt is make sure you have it wired or plugged into a Thermostat. Its actually pretty safe as long as you do it that way. As for placement on your cages I prefer what I call bottom belly heat for my leopards. The thing is if your using this for a heat source inside a cage its going to be difficult to use it in this application. The way I use mine is on each shelf of a rack system. Then the plastic rubbermaid or sterilite boxes sit ontop of the tape and the heat radiates through the relatively thin plastic. The geckos are never in direct contact with the tape. Now in a wooden cage I would thing you could run some along the back bottom corner attacted to maybe the back wall of the setup. Then you would have to place a thermometer on the bottom floor to see what kind of temps you are getting. The thing is you might end up having to turn the tape way up in order to achieve 88-90 degrees on the floor of the cage in that spot. I actually think a better alternative might be to use the heat cord. You could then router out a small channel down the backside of each cages floor for the heat cord. Then you could cover it with a clear water proof silicone or epoxy. Take a putty knife and then smooth it out so its level with the regular floor. I think that actually would be perfect application for what your trying to accomplish. Once again though make sure you have a digital thermometer and that you have the cord or tape plugged into a thermostat that allows you to control the current to these heat sources. I hope this helps and let us see your finished project.

Thank you very much for the info.

I was planning on building a fully extending sliding shelf (much like a computer keyboard drawer) so I can slide the tank out of the cabinet and maintain it as need be. There are some pretty heavy duty drawer sliders at Home Depot that have a 100 lb. capacity. With this sliding shelf I'll have a 1 inch gap between the stationary shelf and the sliding shelf. I planned on putting the FlexWatt in between the two. And if need be I'll put another FlexWatt on the inside wall to acheive higher temps. I'll parralle wire these to a dimmerthermostate. What does everybody think about that?

I'll be sure to post pictures when I'm done with it.
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-JayDog-
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2 Leopard Geckos (Conan & Red Sonja)