Heating without lights

[Evan00]

Lights, plus the screen top is murder for humidity I've discovered. I have made a plexi cover with just enough room for my 75watt bulb to shine through on the hot side in an effort to keep humidity in. It's worked ... a little.
I would like to do more UTH and lessen the bulb wattage (I need to keep using lights unfortunately, because of cold house). Many people on here use flexwatt tape and seem to like it. I think I will try that. How thick should my substrate be on the side I use the tape? I have aspen bedding in the tank now, with some unopened reptile bark I could switch it out for if it does a better job with humidity ... thoughts?

And how hot does the tape get??

[dart]

It only gets as hot as you want it. It must be used with a thermostat, so you set the temp you want it to be.

[pigfat]

Go to your hardware store and buy a sheet of foam inslation, I just got a sheet for about $7. I cut out pieces that fit the back and sides, and then used double sided tape to hold the side that has foil on the tank. Instead of for plexiglass I get a hand towel and soak it in warm water and lay on the screen, and then put another damp towel over the top of that one. Heres some pics, hope people arent sick of seeing these because I've posted them a couple time already. Anyways, hope you get everything figured out!

[snakesRkewl]

Tis why most of us use tubs instead of "fish" tanks

[Rick247]

Yea be carefully and use the t-stat on that heat tape. If left to keep running it will over heat. I would get a good t-stat.

[Evan00]

I am seriously considering buying a foot of flexwatt and the BAH-1000DC big apple t-stat to regulate the temp. Thanks for the info.

Tapatalk with the Inspire 4G

[Royal Hijinx]

I use flex watt and a radiant heat panel in my Boaphile 421D. Works great.

[Jumbie]

I have two 30g all glass tanks with screen tops that I use to put two of my snake on display. My house also gets cold and drafty so I also had humidity and heating issues.

The tank has a heating lamp on the left side and a 10g light fixture on the right. (I just have that on there to provide extra light). So in order to fix the problem I purchased some heating tape from the hardware store and sealed the screen top.

I cut a circular hole for the heating lamp and a rectangle for the 10g light. (Both were cut a 1/4" bigger than needed). I have the heating lamp on the left side with the water bowl almost under it, and two hides on each side of the tank. On the outside bottom right of the tank I have a large heating pad that is controlled with a timer.

Because of the temperature drops at night I have the heating pad turned on 5min before the lights go off and turned off 5 min after the lights turn on.

Now the tank has great ventilation, perfect basking temp of 90-92f, and the humidity ranges from 70-75% minus the small drop during the night hours. With these small modifications both snakes eat well, and have perfect sheds. When the serious cold weather comes I do plan on adding some foam just like mention above to provide more installation if needed.

Here are some pics taken from my iPhone hope you could see them clearly and I hope this helps.

By the way I have followed this forum for a few months, I just never posted anything. I just want to say its a great site, I learn something new everyday about morphs, do's and not to do's. I plan to formally introduce myself in a post most likely tomorrow. Thanks Jumbie.

[Jumbie]

Sorry I wasn't done lol, first time posting images from the phone.

[Evan00]

Thanks for the advice guys. How low do your cool sides cool off to at night? I would like my cold side to be at least 75, but I'm finding it hard to do. The night lights appear to be weaker than the day time lights.

Tapatalk with the Inspire 4G