Heating large cages

[Ivanator]

I'm gonna be moving soon and instead of moving the old cages, I will be building new cages for them all. I just wanna get ideas on different ways to heat them. They will all be 8x4x2 and I'm thinking to have a heat mat on one side for the hot spot and ceramic heat emitter on the other to help keep the ambient air at 80. I would like to know how all you large snake guys heat your enclosures and what are some good heat mats to use? FYI my snakes are 16ft+ so I don't think flex watt makes mats large enough. Thanks guys.

[Tsubaki]

I prefer RHP's myself, they're available in so many sizes i can always find the right one for the enclosure. My 8ft+ enclosures for my retics are mainly heated with those, works like a dream. Otherwise i like heating cables as well, good quality ones hooked up to thermostats only of course. :D

[Minkness]

So if you use an RHP, how do they get belly heat?

[dave himself]

I use ceramics on thermostats and safety cages

[Ivanator]

The cages they're in right now are heated by ceramic heat emitter's with a ceramic tile underneath but the only thing I don't like is placing the thermostat prob on the tile. When the snakes move around at night they constantly pull the prob deeper into their cage so I'm worried about overheating for nights when they drag the probe to the middle of the cage and taping it down doesn't work very well. That's why I wanna use a heat mat this time. That way I can have part of the mat sticking outside of the cage and just have the probe taped onto there.

[dannybgoode]

@mink-the belly heat is provided in exactly the same way as a basking lamp provides heat for a lizard. It warms up whatever is beneath it which then radiates back out the 'stored' heat.

How do you think they get belly heat in the wild?!

A radiant heat source is much more natural (imo)

[Ivanator]

@mink-the belly heat is provided in exactly the same way as a basking lamp provides heat for a lizard. It warms up whatever is beneath it which then radiates back out the 'stored' heat.

How do you think they get belly heat in the wild?!

A radiant heat source is much more natural (imo)

So how do you keep the probe in place to keep the critter from dragging it around the cage or ripping the tape off?

[riddick07]

I'm going to be using pro panels. The recommendation I got for my 8ft is to have two panels one on each end that you can control separately to make a more accurate gradient without overheating one end of the cage to try and warm up the other end. The quote was around $250 total for heat on the 8ft.

[Minkness]

@mink-the belly heat is provided in exactly the same way as a basking lamp provides heat for a lizard. It warms up whatever is beneath it which then radiates back out the 'stored' heat.

How do you think they get belly heat in the wild?!

A radiant heat source is much more natural (imo)


That makes ALOT of sense! I was thinking of RHPs for my big cages for the boas so that will be interesting to learn!

[dave himself]

I have my probe for the stat hanging lose on the back wall of the viv then just checked the hot-spot with a temp gun and adjusted the stat till I got the desired temperature

[dannybgoode]

So how do you keep the probe in place to keep the critter from dragging it around the cage or ripping the tape off?

Hopefully this post I did on the subject will help. Would work for any radiant heat source. I happen to use CHE's and have no issues with humidity etc.



http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/general-enclosure-discussion/111433-how-properly-place-thermostat-probviv.html

[dave himself]

Hopefully this post I did on the subject will help. Would work for any radiant heat source. I happen to use CHE's and have no issues with humidity etc.



http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/general-enclosure-discussion/111433-how-properly-place-thermostat-probviv.html

Never saw this before good write up Danny mate ;)

[Ivanator]

Awesome! Thanks for all the info guys! I haven't decided exactly how I'm gonna heat these but you guys definitely helped a lot!

[Ivanator]

Hopefully this post I did on the subject will help. Would work for any radiant heat source. I happen to use CHE's and have no issues with humidity etc.



http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/general-enclosure-discussion/111433-how-properly-place-thermostat-probviv.html

I have no idea how I never saw this post but it definitely is an excellent write up!!! I think I'm gonna continue using CHE's like I have been now but the only problem I face is the snakes burning themselves on the bulbs. If anyone in the states can point me in the right direction on where I can buy those guards, I would be extremely thankful.

[bigsnakegirl785]

In such a large enclosure, having heat tape or a pad is completely obsolete, the enclosure is simply too large for belly heat to properly provide heat. You are going to want to look to RHPs and CHEs for your sole heat source, in a 2' tall enclosure they should have no problems providing warmth so long as the room isn't kept too cold (min of 70-75F).

I have a 120 watt RBI panel on one side and a 100 watt CHE on the other in my 6'x2'x3's. Considering the height and the troubles I have with maintaining temps during the winter, I'm considering upgrading the RHPs to a much higher wattage if I intend to keep those enclosures. I'm also debating switching to shorter PVC.

So if you use an RHP, how do they get belly heat?

From the RHP. RHPs are specifically designed to heat the surfaces under them, but they also heat the air. It's why my RHP side becomes way drier way faster than my CHE side, even though my CHE provides my hot spot.

So how do you keep the probe in place to keep the critter from dragging it around the cage or ripping the tape off?

In my PVC enclosures, I had basking shelves installed. I just drilled holes underneath the shelves and put the probe through the hole, taping it in place on the outside. With some tweaking, I am now only heating the top half of the enclosure to my target temp, allowing a temp gradient of 80-90F, and the surface of the basking shelf gets 5 degrees warmer than the ambient temps, maxing out at 95F when the RHP is going full blast.

[dave himself]

I have no idea how I never saw this post but it definitely is an excellent write up!!! I think I'm gonna continue using CHE's like I have been now but the only problem I face is the snakes burning themselves on the bulbs. If anyone in the states can point me in the right direction on where I can buy those guards, I would be extremely thankful.

Try eBay for the guards mate

[pet_snake_78]

If you have a lot of cages it's probably just as cheap to heat the entire room to the desired ambient and then create your basking spots. I use oil radiant heaters hooked to two tstats. If the first tstat fails, the second will keep the room from overheating.

[Sublimeballs]

So if you use an RHP, how do they get belly heat?

They dont need belly heat if you have a heat panel. But....The same way the get belly heat from the sun; The heat panel warms up the spot under the panel. They move under it and the heat transfers into the body from underneath.

[SnakeyJay]

So if you use an RHP, how do they get belly heat?

Also one thing to consider.. Females that are gravid in some species have been known to turn their belly to the side or upwards to get this belly heat from an overhead heat source too. Although that's the only time that I can think of that I've heard of a snake actively seeking out belly heat directly.

[Ivanator]

If you have a lot of cages it's probably just as cheap to heat the entire room to the desired ambient and then create your basking spots. I use oil radiant heaters hooked to two tstats. If the first tstat fails, the second will keep the room from overheating.

This definitely would be easier but they'll all be moving into the garage which will much harder to control ambient temps.

[dannybgoode]

Interestingly I've heard those che guards are really hard to get hold of in the states. No idea why!

Wouldn't cost much to ship from the uk particularly given how weak sterling is at the moment.

[Ivanator]

Ya I listened to Dave and found them on eBay but they're being shipped from Europe and they're way more expensive than I thought they would be. I bought 8 and after shipping and some other charge the total came to $170! It's worth it to keep my snakes from burning themselves though. I can also look at these and try to make my own.