Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have been asking questions about using heat tape and melamine..i was thinking today and came up with this idea(prolly not the first person) what if i take the heat tape and put it between a piece of melamine and a piece of pec board(with holes)..that way it cant directly touch the animal but it can still generate heat through the holes.. i would be using these pieces as the bottoms of each cage...thanks for the responses,i appreciate it...
-----
0.1 normal redtail boa
1.0 true redtail boa
1.1 100% het for albino redtails
1 miami red phase cornsnake
1 baby sulcata tortoise
1 snow corn

Flexwatt produces radiant heat, not convective heat, so it won't travel through the holes the way you are thinking. You need someting that will conduct heat, which standard peg board does not do a good job of.

Plastic pegboard is PVC, I think. That might work better.

A thin piece of Sintra, a plastic sign board product, will work better and it will actually improve the performance of the heat tape due to its thermal mass.

One thing that works very well is to cut a hole out of the floor about 2" wider and longer than the piece of flexwatt you need. Don't cut this hole right up the sides of the cage.

The cover the entire floor with Sintra, which makes for a very easy to clean and durable cage floor.

Flexwatt can just be attached to the underside of the Sintra with the properly rated foil tape. This works very well and provides an air space for for the flexwatt. The air space provides another safety step.

This is only way I have ever used flexwatt with a homemade cage. It works very well.

thats sounds like a plan and similar to another opinion i got..i was gonna put the heat tape on top of the floor and then put then plastic on top but your idea sounds safer and also, should i seal the plastic with something like silicone?..thanks for the ideas...
-----
0.1 normal redtail boa
1.0 true redtail boa
1.1 100% het for albino redtails
1 miami red phase cornsnake
1 baby sulcata tortoise
1 snow corn

Yes, seal the edges of the plastic with silicone. Totally forgot to mention that. It really does work well. If you're unsure of how much heat tape you'll need, just make the cutout on the large side. How much flexwatt can be tough to determine as there are just too many factors. Size and height of the cage along with room temperature being the most important.

chris i have one more question, i got the idea of painting my cages this black stone finish with a type of spray paint made by rustoleum....my question to you is will the paint hold up to the heat, like i need to either paint it or seal the wood and i did receive the post about the sealants but i was wondering what you thought about the paint..thanks..
-----
0.1 normal redtail boa
1.0 true redtail boa
1.1 100% het for albino redtails
1 miami red phase cornsnake
1 baby sulcata tortoise
1 snow corn

Remind me again what you are building the cage with.

im building the cage with melamine or plywood, but from what ive been told, melamine is a better choice....let me know what you think..
-----
0.1 normal redtail boa
1.0 true redtail boa
1.1 100% het for albino redtails
1 miami red phase cornsnake
1 baby sulcata tortoise
1 snow corn