Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have an old set of real wood shelves, I want to make a quick set of cages out of.
Can I put the flex on the bottom of a ceramic tile and set this in the cage on the wood shelf and silicone around it to make it water tight?

Also I would add some washers giving it a small air space..Would this be safe?

Ive read a few older sites about cage building and they put the flexwatt directly taped into the cage with the substrate over it.

IMO wood cages lend themselves better to overhead heat as opposed to floor heat. An RHP or a CHE (and a wire cage around it) is a really effective way to heat a wood cage.

Heating wood floors is not optimum unless the floor is made from either a non-grained wood product (MFD, particle board, thicker plywood, etc) or of a different material like plastic. Solid wood planks might warp somewhat. I realize the wood is old and therefore dry, so warping is probably not going to be severe, but still, heating planks is not the best option.

If you go with your idea, I suggest using Ultratherm heat pads or similar product. The electrical connections are sealed on those, unlike Flexwatt. You can seal Flexwatt connections with silicon, and I would never put Flexwatt inside a cage unless the connections were done correctly and are sealed from touch and minor water spills.

If you prop the tile/heater up about 1/4 inch, that would help reduce the heating of the wood below. They sell 1/4 inch small glass tile decorative pieces that you can adhere under the main tile to prop it up.
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Mark

You CAN place flexwatt in the wooden cages safely. I know because I have done it on many occasions.

3M make a product that is moisture resistant and it looks like 1/8 inch thick electrical tape. I have put this on my flexwatt connecters and then when I try to take it apart, I find that every piece of metal is covered in rubber and you cannot get it off.
I always insulate the other end with no connectors using normal di electric tape but you can also use this 3m product for that also.
Then use a plug in lamp dimmer, can be purchased at home depot in the brand name Leviton, to control the amount of power/heat that it outputs. Cover the flexwatt with aluminum foil tape made for sealing hot/cold ducts.

If all of the above is done, you DO NOT need to cover the flexwatt with tile or anything else, unless you are putting some animal with nails that can tear up the flexwatt in the process of digging. (leopard geckos or smaller geckos cannot damage it)