Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm sure these questions have been asked before, but I can't seem to find them in all of these posts. I have just built new cages for my reptiles, and bought some flexwatt to heat them with. The cages are 4' x 2' x 15" and are made with 3/4" MDF. I covered the interior of the cages with contact paper and siliconed all of the seams. The floors of the cages will be covered in a bed-a-beast/cypress bark mixture, and one of them may have playsand in it. Now I am stuck on how to install the flexwatt.

I bought it from the bean farm, and in their informational sheets they didn't recommend installing it to the bottom of wood cages, although that is what I had had in mind. I assume the reason for this is that the wood doesn't transfer heat very well.

I could install them inside the cages, however the wire connections to the flexwatt would have to remain in the cages and I could run the wires out the same hole I have for the fluorescent fixtures, but everything I have read told me not to install them with the electrical connections inside the cages. I was thinking of installing them inside the cages, and filling the plastic covers for the connectors with silicone all around the exposed metal, and laying a piece of glass over top of the flexwatt underneath the bedding. Would this work to make it safe?

Does anyone have any ideas? I would appreciate any ideas you all have.

Jennifer
1.2 Ball Pythons
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
0.1 Pastel Columbian Redtail
1.2 Bearded Dragons
1.1 Leopard Geckos

The inside plan you have will work.. I would suggest using lexan or plexiglass though. You can use the flexwatt under the cage as well. It will depend on the thickness of the wood on how efficent it will be. Also in either application you need to use a thermostat...Hope this helps,
-Matt
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www.mgreptiles.com
CBB Herps and Heating Supplies

>The inside plan you have will work.. I would suggest using lexan or plexiglass though. You can use the flexwatt under the cage as well. It will depend on the thickness of the wood on how efficent it will be. Also in either application you need to use a thermostat...Hope this helps,
>-Matt

I was thinking yesterday that I might put spacers (say, 3/4" around the edges of the cage, and in the center on either side of the flexwatt, and then cover it with glass or expanded pvc (if I can find it), so there would be airspace above the flexwatt. I was told by the man at Home Depot that plexiglass would melt if I used it as a flooring over the flexwatt, is that not true?

What is lexan? I have never heard or read of that before.

I have a dimmer switch set up as use for a thermostat until I find one I really like.

The MDF is 3/4" thick, and I am afraid that the hot spot temps wouldn't get high enough through the MDF. Thank you very much though, I appreciate the help!

Jennifer
1.2 Ball Pythons
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
0.1 Pastel Columbian Redtail Boa
1.2 Bearded Dragons
1.1 Leopard Gecoes

It is clear plastic like, you can get it at any glass shop.

Does it hold up to heat better than plexiglass? Is it more scratch resistant than plexiglass? Is it more like glass? Why would it be better as a flooring than glass? Lighter weight I'm guessing. Thank you guys for all of the help, this is so very nice of you!

Jennifer
1.2 Ball Pythons
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
0.1 Pastel Columbian Redtail Boa
1.2 Bearded Dragons
1.1 Leopard Geckoes

Sorry I missed this thread.

I have a couple of recommendations for you.

First is to cut a large rectangle out of the floor of your cage, staying at least 2" away from the cage sides. Make the rectangle at least 2" wider and longer than the size of flexwatt you'll be using.

Then cover the entire cage floor with a plastic flooring. This could be vinyl flooring, fiberglass reinforced panel, or expanded PVC (aka sintra - available from sign shops).

Then the heat tape can be taped to the underside of this plastic and have a 3/4" air space. It also means it will be much easier to access the heat tape. Route a couple of shallow grooves for the cord.

I do not like the idea of lexan (a type of polycarbonate), plexiglass (a type of acrylic), or glass.

All three are decent reflectors of radiant heat. This means a lot of energy will be reflected back onto the flexwatt which at the very least shortens the lifespan of the product and has to run a lot hotter. At the very worst it increases the fire hazard.

You want something that is naturally more heat conductive. I like the Sintra the best.

My second choice would be your idea with 3/4" spacers. Again, don't use polycarbonate, acrlic, or glass.

>>Does it hold up to heat better than plexiglass?

Yes.

>>Is it more scratch resistant than plexiglass?

Yes, but it's also much harder to polish scratches out.

>>Is it more like glass?

Not really.

>>Why would it be better as a flooring than glass?

That's a tough question. You have weight, scratch resistance, resistance to disinfectants, and resistance to radiant energy to consider. All sort of work against each other.

Again, I like expanded PVC for reptile cage flooring for all but the heaviest scratchers.
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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

>>I have a couple of recommendations for you.

GREAT!!!

>>First is to cut a large rectangle out of the floor of your cage, staying at least 2" away from the cage sides. Make the rectangle at least 2" wider and longer than the size of flexwatt you'll be using.

>>Then cover the entire cage floor with a plastic flooring. This could be vinyl flooring, fiberglass reinforced panel, or expanded PVC (aka sintra - available from sign shops).
>>
>>Then the heat tape can be taped to the underside of this plastic and have a 3/4" air space. It also means it will be much easier to access the heat tape. Route a couple of shallow grooves for the cord.

I LOVE that idea, however I don't think I will be able to do that at this point, with the tools I have at my disposal. I wish I had had that idea BEFORE I had my boxes all assembled... but it's my fault for waiting until now to figure this out. I want to kick myself...

>>I do not like the idea of lexan (a type of polycarbonate), plexiglass (a type of acrylic), or glass.
>>
>>All three are decent reflectors of radiant heat. This means a lot of energy will be reflected back onto the flexwatt which at the very least shortens the lifespan of the product and has to run a lot hotter. At the very worst it increases the fire hazard.

Okay, thank you for that information. This is great information, and I greatly appreciate it. I didn't know about any of that. I'm so glad I asked my questions on here...

>>You want something that is naturally more heat conductive. I like the Sintra the best.

I've called every sign and plastics store in the phone book. Apparently living in Alaska makes certain things less obtainable than others. In order to get Sintra I would have to special order it, and it wouldn't get here for 6 to 8 weeks, and it would cost me upwards of $80 per cage. Not exactly what I had in mind...

>>My second choice would be your idea with 3/4" spacers. Again, don't use polycarbonate, acrlic, or glass.

Okay, I can do the spacer thing, although I would rather do the the other idea if I could. How about stone tiles? I don't know exactly how I'd do it, but if I could stratigically place the spacers so that the stone tiles could sit on them, wouldn't that disperse the heat appropriatly? It would also be tough I would think, and with any sort of luck wear down my bearded dragons nails. I wouldn't want to grout them together, but rather get them at the exact size I need them (large tiles, preferably) and sit them in next to each other like puzzle pieces with very little to no gap between. Is that a possibility?

I'm getting very frusterated coming up with a type of flooring. I love all of this information you all have provided me, it's exactly what I have been hoping for. I want the best for my reptiles that I can get, but I would like to get the cages done by the end of the month if I can manage it. They're all ready, just waiting for heat and a good floor. I would love to get them in their new much larger and better enclosures, but I can't do that until I get this very basic and important thing done...

Thank you SO much!!! You have no idea how much I appreciate this!
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Jenni
1.2 Ball Pythons
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
0.1 Pastel Columbian Redtail Boa
1.2 Bearded Dragons
1.1 Leopard Geckoes

>>I LOVE that idea, however I don't think I will be able to do that at this point, with the tools I have at my disposal. I wish I had had that idea BEFORE I had my boxes all assembled... but it's my fault for waiting until now to figure this out. I want to kick myself...

Can't you borrow a saw of some sort? A jig saw, rotary saw, circular saw, or something?

>>I've called every sign and plastics store in the phone book. Apparently living in Alaska makes certain things less obtainable than others. In order to get Sintra I would have to special order it, and it wouldn't get here for 6 to 8 weeks, and it would cost me upwards of $80 per cage. Not exactly what I had in mind...

I imagine expanded PVC is not durable enough for exterior use in Alaska. It's definately not special enough to order or pay that price for.

How about FRP, aka Fiberglass Reinforced Panel?

>>Okay, I can do the spacer thing, although I would rather do the the other idea if I could. How about stone tiles? I don't know exactly how I'd do it, but if I could stratigically place the spacers so that the stone tiles could sit on them, wouldn't that disperse the heat appropriatly? It would also be tough I would think, and with any sort of luck wear down my bearded dragons nails. I wouldn't want to grout them together, but rather get them at the exact size I need them (large tiles, preferably) and sit them in next to each other like puzzle pieces with very little to no gap between. Is that a possibility?

I don't like the idea of having unsealed gaps. Too much chance of water, feces, urates getting through to the heating elements.

>>I'm getting very frusterated coming up with a type of flooring. I love all of this information you all have provided me, it's exactly what I have been hoping for. I want the best for my reptiles that I can get, but I would like to get the cages done by the end of the month if I can manage it. They're all ready, just waiting for heat and a good floor. I would love to get them in their new much larger and better enclosures, but I can't do that until I get this very basic and important thing done...

I really think you can get either vinyl flooring or FRP to work. Are you sure that heat tape is going to be enough to warm your cage? How cool does your home get during the winter?
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Current snakes:

0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

>>Can't you borrow a saw of some sort? A jig saw, rotary saw, circular saw, or something?

It's a little complicated, but to make a long story short, no, not really.

>>I imagine expanded PVC is not durable enough for exterior use in Alaska. It's definately not special enough to order or pay that price for.

That's sort of what I'd thought.

>>How about FRP, aka Fiberglass Reinforced Panel?

What's that? I have read about it in other sections of the forum, but couldn't really figure out what that was...

>>I don't like the idea of having unsealed gaps. Too much chance of water, feces, urates getting through to the heating elements.

How about if I sealed them with silicone? I had purchased a few tiles and was playing around with them, cutting them, etc. and found that if i seal them with silicone they are still pretty easy to move (take out and clean, etc.) however nothing will be able to fall through...

>>I really think you can get either vinyl flooring or FRP to work. Are you sure that heat tape is going to be enough to warm your cage? How cool does your home get during the winter?

Okay, I was worried about vinyl flooring warping because of the heat, but I guess if I don't let it get too hot (with the dimmer) it wouldn't... I already have the heat tape installed, and tested the temps, and they should be fine. I keep the house 75-78 degrees anyway, usually toward the higher end in the winter (when you come inside you want to get warm FAST), and since I have very little venting, and it is stratically placed, they should warm up very well, even if I lower my home temp to 70.
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Jenni
1.2 Ball Pythons
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
0.1 Pastel Columbian Redtail Boa
1.2 Bearded Dragons
1.1 Leopard Geckoes

Lexan is a type of plexiglass.. It is the stuff they make bullet proof "glass" out of....
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www.mgreptiles.com
CBB Herps and Heating Supplies