Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi i am haveing an enclosure made and i need help on heating it at night it will be 48x24x32 i was wondering if i should go with a helix thermostat and a radiant heat panel or just go with like a cobra heat mat mounted on the top with a cheaper thermostat or should i spend the money and get the helix or is that a waste of money. any help would be great thanks if it helps it will be lined with plastic pannels that are about 1/8 inch thick thank for any help

Is this only for night time heat?

My first inclination is to recommend you use a Ceramic Heat Emitter for both your diurnal and nocturnal heat. If the room where the cage will sit is that cold then buy a thermostat with a night-time temperature drop feature.

A RHP will work but seems overkill if it's for night-time heat only. If the RHP is for both night time and day time heat it probably won't get the cage hot enough for a V. acanthurus in a 32" tall cage - at least during the day. But you should e-mail Bob at ProProducts and see.

Regardless, your idea of a UTH on the ceiling will basically do nothing to heat your cage.
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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)

yes its only for night time heat i just want it to stay around 75 to 80 degs. it will be in my bedroom so it wont be to cold of a room i just want to be able to turn off the basking light at night and not get to cold thanks

>>yes its only for night time heat i just want it to stay around 75 to 80 degs. it will be in my bedroom so it wont be to cold of a room i just want to be able to turn off the basking light at night and not get to cold thanks

Hi there, I had a trio of reds for a while. They were housed in a 100 gal. stock tank. I used a Cobra uth, their whole tank was comprised of flag stone (thin flat stone, 1" thick or so) which i made into stacks/terraces. I was running hallogens during the day. On the floor of the cage i placed a 12"x18" piece of flag stone, then the uth, then another piece of flag stone. The top piece being large and heavy enough to secure the uth. My Ackies seldom used this though. They either retreated to the lowest portion of the stone terrace or to one of their burrows at night. My observation was that they want a secure spot to sleep at night, out in the open on a heated rock doesn't fit the bill. I would find them there in the morning, but as soon as the upper level of stone under the lamp was warmed, thats where they always ended up. Ackies have no problem with cooler nite time temps, i would say they might even prefer it. I used it just to give them another option. The truth is with the setup i used the stone would be collecting and storing heat all day from the hallogens. Once the lights were turned off the stones would then radiate all that stored heat, much like what naturally happens in the outback. If you are going to go this route you could also use ceramic tile as well, materials like the ones i've mentioned will absorb and distribute heat very well, they will also reduce the chance of hotspots. If you don't have a temp gun yet then get one, very handy to have. Especially with Ackies, as they tend to like a relatively high temp basking platform. All right thats long enough, hope this helped. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Clint
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0.1 Colombian Boa
1.0 Hogg Isle Boa
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
0.1 Argentine Boa
0.0.2 Green Tree Python (Biak & Sorong type)