Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I want to construct a few cages from melamine with pegboard backings to cut down on the weight and provide ventilation. I was wondering if I could just attach the flexwatt to the back of the pegboard, behind the cage. My thought was that this would save some hassle with wiring and make the cage more attractive by hiding the flexwatt. My questions are, would it be safe to attach flexwatt directly to pegboard? Would this form of heat (back heat) be suitable for heating my snakes (corns, pines, and a blood python)? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
~Brian

Back heating is not desirable, for many reasons. One is that it will only heat towards the back of the cage, you won't have a constant heat all along the tank from back to front on one side. Also, heating with a pegboard back may present a couple problems. You will probably end up with difficulty heating this cage, in any sense. Typcially, you don't want to put ventilation towards the top of the cage - the heat will rise and go right out of your cage.

If you want to lighten the cage, I would reccomend to just get yourself a sheet of 1/4" plywood. That's really the best to use for the back of a cage, anyway. It will still offer support and ridgidity for the top of the cage.

Also, I have no clue as to the requirements for a blood python - are there any humidity requirements? If you have constant ventilation holes along the back, no matter how much you mist, you will never get a decent amount of humidity.

those are just my thoughts. You may want to try just a small strip of pegboard along the bottom back for ventilaion (maybe about 1/4 of the total height), then put the 1/4" pywood for the rest.
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

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Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
0.1 Texas Bairdi (Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Monty)

>>I want to construct a few cages from melamine with pegboard backings to cut down on the weight and provide ventilation.

You might scroll down through some recent threads and look at the racks made with 1/8" showerboard for sides. I've used 1/2" plywood for the sides and that saves a lot of weight, the showerboard even more.

If you do use the showerboard I believe the pegboard would be a good idea for the back.

If you don't feel comfortable with the showerboard for the sides then I'd recommend no back at all. Just use some simple cleats to stop the boxes.

Then some Reflectix insulation can be used to insulate the back and reflect that heat back into the boxes.

>>My questions are, would it be safe to attach flexwatt directly to pegboard?

It certainly has been done but that does not mean it's "safe". I really don't care to make a recommendation either way.

>>Would this form of heat (back heat) be suitable for heating my snakes (corns, pines, and a blood python)?

In a cool room, probably not, especially for the blood python. But belly heat is often not suitable either. People still use it and the snakes seem tough enough to deal with it.

Again, you might read through some recent threads to learn more about this.
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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)

>>If you do use the showerboard I believe the pegboard would be a good idea for the back.

My logic here is that with the thin showerboard sides a back that adds some structure to the rack would be a good idea. But I've not used the showerboard so I'm just guessing.

>>If you don't feel comfortable with the showerboard for the sides then I'd recommend no back at all. Just use some simple cleats to stop the boxes.

What I meant here was that if you used even 1/2" plywood for the sides you really don't need a back to provide structure to the rack. So go with no back and all and use a lightweight insulation with a foil cover to reflect some of that radiant energy back onto the boxes.

But before you do that you should read up on the different foil-faced insulations and learn about the use of air spaces and which products are flamable.
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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'm sorry I may not have been perfectly clear before. I intend on constructing full enclosures from melamine and pegboard, not a rack system. Sorry for the lack of specificity. Also, I use a humidity box with my blood python to maintain the required humidity and have found this to be effective even in a well ventilated cage. Thanks for the comments.
~Brian

>>I'm sorry I may not have been perfectly clear before.

You were, I'm just stressed from the garage/snake room renovation that's I'm going through.

In larger enclosures this will not work well.

To save weight I'd recommend building floorless cages and stapeling 1/4" expanded PVC directly to the cage bottom. When set on a flat surface or another cage it will have plenty of support. I've seen 8' long cages built for king cobras from the same design.

Then place your heat pad underneath the cage and the PVCX will do and excellent job of distributing the heat throughout the 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)

Forgot to mention that this design has the advantage of providing a durable and easy to clean floor - the area of the cage that needs these features most.

It's also easy to replace if it should need it.
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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)

Thanks for all the help. It looks like I've got to think my plans through a little bit more before I get started. I'm still not sure what I want to go with. If anyones got any really strong oppinions as far as materials and designs, I'd love to hear them. Otherwise, I'll just keep dreaming up my own designs until I come up with something workable. Thanks again for all the feedback.
~Brian