Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Would it be better to use heat lamp from the top? Or would it be better to use 2ft of 11" Flexwatt heat tape on the bottom? Would the cage be melted if I use 2ft of 11" heat tape? Any information is greatly appreciated.

a lot has to do with the ambient temp of the room you have you cage in. Room Temp where I keep my animals is about 80 degrees and this method works well for me.

I use manufactured heat pads(Hagen and Ultratherm are a couple of manufacturers)which use the same sort of technology as Flexwatt. They come in a variety of dimensions with electrical cord already attached. Some already have an adhesive surface to stick to the rack or cage. For the 3 foot Neos, I use an 11" x 17" pad which I place underneath one end of the cage. The 17" dimension is an almost perfect lenght, front to back of the 3' neo. I then connect to a thermostat for temp control. Personally, I set temp on hot spot to 88-90 degrees and I'm good to go.

Hope this helps,
Mark

I use the square 12" Pro Products radiant heat panels in mine, controlled with a thermostat. That's because the cages are in a normal room temperature environment and I have to heat the ambient air in the cage as well as provide a basking area.

If you have a specially heated room for your herps, you can use heat tape like Flex Watt or Cobra Heat Mats under one end of the cage. However, when using these under-tank heaters it is critical that you do not sandwich the heat mat between the cage and another surface like a table or shelf. The heat mats need room to breathe. So, if you attach the heat mat to the underside of the cage make sure there is some air space underneath the heat mat -- otherwise the heat will build up to dangerously high temps.

Regards,

Bill