PVC cage owners! I have some questions.

[whispersinmyhead]

Well I have a cage that I built that I really like. It is an oak 3/4" oak plywood cage with a CHE heat source. It measures 4'x2'x2'. I use a Herpstat 1 to control it and temps are perfect. 90-92 on hot side and 78-80 on cool. I do have to use cypress as substrate to battle the CHE humidity sucking power. I only have to mist once every week or two in the summer and up to twice a week in winter. Humidity is 50-60%.

So that setup is working but now I want another snake or two. I think I want PVC cages that are 4'x2'x1'. That way I can stack them on my current oak stand to replace my old cage.

My concern is the that I have a cool house. I can't devote a room to snakes unfortunately. My room is 65-68F in winter and up to 73 in summer. I want to use PVC because humidity will be easier to control and I would like to use UTH for my heat source instead of a CHE. Of course I will use my Herpstat for regulation.

Will I have high enough ambient temps in a room that is 68f with only a UTH as a heats source?
Do any of you have PVC cages in rooms close to 68f?
If a second heat source is necessary, what do you use?

My goal is the simplest solution.

I am looking to get the cage at an expo this summer and then run it as a test setup for a week or so to perfect the setup. I just don't want to waste the money if it is going to need heat lamps or a CHE because then I will just forget it and keep what I have.


Thanks. As usual any input or experience is much appreciated.

[jason_ladouceur]

I guess the first question is what do you intend on keeping in the cage? Different animals obviously require different heat levels. I had a 4x2x1 cage in a room with the ambient temps around those. I had about 2' of 4" heat tape connected to herpstat set to run at 94 degrees and I had no problems at all. I kept a bci in that cage and it did awesome.

[whispersinmyhead]

Well my BP will move into the first and I would like to add a second fora Nicaraguan Boa another smaller boa in the future. (Just starting to look into a boa it may just be a second ball).

So I need a 90-92f to 78-80f. I know humidity wont be an issue if I using a UTH in a PVC case.

[The Serpent Merchant]

68 shouldn't give you any issues, 65 will be starting to push it. Make sure that you get a cage with 1/2" PVC walls and not the thinner 1/4" or 1/8" walls as they won't hold in nearly as much heat as 1/2" walls will. You will want to use 2 18" fluorescent lights in each cage to help boost the air temps, and keep the cages on the humid side. You want to keep them humid because the water in the air will help to transfer heat from the fluorescent lights and even the floor of the cage over the heat tape into the air in the cage.

[whispersinmyhead]

I haven't seen any cages that thick at the expos or shops here in Canada. I live in Timmins Ontario but I planning on getting down to an expo or two this summer. We are moving to a new house this year so I may be able to get a room that is more around 70ish. Would that help?

For humidity I will continue using Cypress or another substrate that keeps humidity in check.

I forgot to mention I wanted to use a t5 fluorescent for 12 hours daylight and blue LED's for night viewing.

Does anyone have the 1/4" PVC cages in cooler rooms and how do they work for you?

[whispersinmyhead]

Or anyone in Canada know where to get 1/2" PVC cages at a decent price? The guys in Sudbury want $375 for a cage I can get for $249 at a shop down south or at an expo.

[kitedemon]

No I have not seen anything here but 3/8 or 1/4 pvcx I use sly plastics from Montreal they are reasonable at holding heat. The thing to remember is that all heat sources that heat air will alter the humidity you can't have one with out the other.

That said my sly is in a room that is 66 this last few days has a 2 ft flourscent light and a deep blue led light string in it and it holds 82 ambient most of the time the coolest I have recorded last 2 weeks was 77 in the enclosure but the rooms low was 60. I rarely mist but use a large glass bowl 6 inch diameter over the warm side. Currently I have Sami chips but may switch back to coco coir as it holds more humidity. Hope this helps!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[whispersinmyhead]

Thanks Kitedemon! That is very useful! That helps me make my decision a lot easier. I figured there would be some one in a similar situation as mine.

Well if I get a good deal, I may get two cages.

[whispersinmyhead]

Kitedemon, do you use flexwatt or a retail UTH?

[whispersinmyhead]

Also Kitedemon, do you have pics of your setup? No biggie of you don't.