How to heat a wooden enclosure

Bodega aquatics · 06-09-21, 03:41 PM

Hello! I am looking to start building custom enclosures and I has a quick question about heating methods. I tend to favor heat mats most of the time but I'm not sure if you can do that with plywood. My only option seems to be ceramic but they're supposed to take up a lot of electricity. Maybe heat mats could work but I'd be worried about warping the wood and not having heat pernitrate. Is there an option that all you DIY guys use that works pretty well? Thanks!

Pythonguy1 · 06-09-21, 04:09 PM

If using a heat mat for a wooden enclosure I put the mat inside the enclosure and sandwich it between two tiles. It sit's on top of one tile so it doesn't burn the wood, and then another tile goes on top of the mat so it radiates the heat across the floor space. A better option would be to do the same but with a heat cord. Set the cord up like you would normally do but instead put it inside the enclosure then put a tile over the space that the cord is covering. I would steer away from using ceramic globes and stuff like that as they are expensive and unnatural for snakes IMO.
Hope this helps

toddnbecka · 06-11-21, 12:10 PM

Ultratherm heat mats are the only brand I use. Placed inside a wooden enclosure, you have to make sure they won't be exposed to excess moisture for long periods of time, but that goes along with the wooden enclosure in general. I use large ceramic tiles as well. A radiant heat panel would also work. It's a more expensive option, but no worries about moisture.

Bodega aquatics · 06-12-21, 08:43 PM

Thank you both very much!

Pythonguy1 · 06-13-21, 02:04 AM

Cheers mate.

Herpin' Man · 06-16-21, 08:57 AM

I like radiant heat panels for snake cages.