I bet the shelf is sucking away most of the heat energy from the heaters.

Path of least resistance - heat will always go to metal before plastic. Melamine does the same thing - sucks the heat away unless there is enough wattage to heat the melamine and cage.

Use bumpers, pieces of foam, whatever, to elevate the cage off of the shelf such that the heat pads do not touch the shelf. Then you can go back to using the strip of heat tape if you want.

For additional effectiveness, lay a piece of styrene foam down on the shelf, then elevate the cage as described. The foam will help limit heat loss.
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Mark

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