Flex watt Heat tape

[AlbertaBP]

Hello, This is my first post on the forums. Im planning on getting some bp's But cant untill i can provide them with proper housing. I Found some sterlite 34qt tubs at Wal-mart for fairly cheap, and was planning on using those for the housing.

A couple questions.......

Is a 34qt To small or too large too house a bp from juvi too adult?

Im going too be using UTH flexwatt Heat, What width size do I go with 3 inch, 11inch?

Thats all the questions I have for now.

Thank you

[steveboos]

First off, the tub is way too big for a juvenile and you would have to fill it with so much stuff to make the baby feel secure, I would go for a 6 qt or 12 qt and just wait untill he gets bigger. Also you can find latch top 15 qt tubs that you could use, since i know the 34 qt are the lime green handled latch top ones, and the 15 would be perfect for now.

As far as flexwatt is concerned PLEASE use a thermomstat, NOT a dimmer for flexwatt and really watch it closely. Flexwatt gets VERY hot and if left without any heat control, your snakes are going to be sweating out at like 130 degrees! But depending on the tub you get, i would only get the 3 inch flexwatt or the 4 inch from Reptile Basics. The 11 inch is just too big and would cover way too much of the tub and wouldn't give your snake enough room to have a thermogradient.

[withonor]

From what I have read, 34qt tubs are okay for male adults and small female adults, and smaller sizes depending on how much security you are offering them.

3" flexwatt is the most commonly used size from my research. I just ordered 32ft of 10watt/ft 3" for the rack I am going to build. 3" also comes in 6watt/ft. 11" and 17" seem to be used as back heat primarily versus belly heat.

I would also suggest getting a proportional thermostat. You tell it what temperature to be at and it will adjust constantly to maintain that temperature. Dimmers are a pain in the butt and require constant attention and adjustments.

[AlbertaBP]

Ok I will definately go with the smaller tubs if thats whats better for juvi snakes. And Yes I will be using a thermostat, I was planning on buying a helix.. Also will be picking up a infared temp gun.

Anything else you guys reccomend I have on hand before getting involved with BP's.

Thanks

[chapskis1]

I don't really have anything else to add, but just wanted to comment about how nice it is to see someone doing their research, and getting everything ready and all (or a lot anyway) of your questions answered before getting your snake(s)!

-- George

[AlbertaBP]

Ok this may seem Like a stupid question, but I dont have a clue, still trying/learning.

So with the heat tape and your guys rack setup, do you just use one foot pieces of individual flex heat per cage, or do you use the whole 25ft and wrap it on the bottoms of all the cages?

Hope that makes sense,,, better i ask now, then order it tommorow and make a mistake

[withonor]

One strip or two strips per level the entire length of the shelf. One strip in the back if the room you keep the rack in is warm enough to keep the cool side of the tub in the low to mid 80's all the time. Add a second strip to the front to maintain the cool side if room temperatures are too low. This would require an extra thermastat though, or one that can control two or more heating devices.

You can wire them all together in parallel to have one plug or wire each one separately and plug them into a surge protector then plug that into the thermostat. Ralph Davis has some nice videos on YouTube about heating a rack. There are three that run about 10 minutes each as he explains the whole thing. Definately worth watching.

[AlbertaBP]

Thanks.. great videos' explained alot.