Flex Watt

[JoshJP7]

I browsed for a little while on this topic and couldnt find the answer I was looking for... I currenty use the reptile whatever UTH's and this weekend is the start of building new homes for my balls... The enclosures I will be building are 4ft x 2ft x 18inchs and I need to know how many flex watt feet I am going to need? Right now I will be building 4 custom enclosures over the next 3-4 months pending how long it takes to put one together and Id like to just buy all the flex watt at one time... Anyone have any guesses as to how much flexwatt im going to need? I've never used the stuff before and am kinda lost as to how you hook it up and what not if you can just cut it wherever.... Anyone have any info on Flex Watt? Thank you.

[ctrlfreq]

The enclosures I will be building are 4ft x 2ft x 18inchs and I need to know how many flex watt feet I am going to need?

What is your aniticpated arrangement on the tubs, and ambient temperature where you expect to put the racks? On our adult rack, we have 1' of 11" flexwatt for each 27-qt tub (two tubs per shelf, long side out), and our baby rack has 2' of 3" for each shelf (four tubs per shelf, short side out), which in our case is fine because our normal room temperature is only slightly lower than the desired ambient temperature (temps in the tubs run slightly higher than room temperature due to low air flow, and thus low heat loss).

If your ambient room temperatures are expected to fall below an acceptable range, you may need to reinforce the "hot" side flexwatt with "cool" side flexwatt to keep your ambient temps in the 70's.

[JoshJP7]

Well heres the issue... the snakes are currently in my bedroom which has 5 windows in it making the room temp around 80 right now. It actually gets higher than that but I have a window air conditioner set to 81 during the day to keep temps from getting to high. I live in Syracuse, NY where we get pounded with snow and the cold all winter long. Once temps start to cool off I will be moving the snakes out of my room and into a spare bedroom so I can just heat the whole room to like 77-78ish... Since its going to cost me extra money each month to heat up the snake room I was looking for alternative sources of heat... Right now I have two choices... A. heat up the whole room or B. use a space heater... Either way I'm paying extra to heat the room up. It sounds like your saying I could just use some more flex watt on the cool side to keep ambient temps up?? I'm assuming this would involve another themostat to keep the temps from getting too high creating a double hot side?... Would it cost more to heat up the whole room (i think its like 10x12 er so) or to run cool side flexwatt in each cage? The custom cages will be stacked on top of eachother 4 high and I'm aiming for ambient temps around 77-78ish.

[SatanicIntention]

What are you making the cages out of? That flexwatt is going to be running pretty high if you plan on using it outside of plywood or melamine. I would think about investing in radiant heat panels to mount on the ceilings of each cage. They may be a bit up there in price, but they are very safe and won't have to run at dangerously high temps to warm the cages.

I also would look into oil-filled heaters. They don't use as much electricity if I remember correctly and they also don't dry out the air as much as ceramic heaters or the other kinds. They aren't very expensive at all.

[JoshJP7]

The cages will be made out of plywood or melamine... the heat mat goes inside the cage and then you put a piece of vinyle flooring over the top so it wont have to run the flex watt too high preventing any burns/fires. I bought the cage plans online and it gives you step by step instructions how to build them... for 30$ I think it was worth the money bc the finished product is simply awesome... I'm just new to the flex watts and how much I'm going to need... Im thinking like 1 1/2ft of the 11inch stuff will work?

[lord jackel]

You are going to need 4 feet for each cage. 2' on the Hot side and 2' on the cool side. With seperate thermostats to run each side (all the Hot sides can be run from one thermostat as can all the cool sides).


By doing this you most likely won't have too heat the room beyond what your normal house temp will be....even if you do decide to go with a radiator style heater you will still need to get the ambient temps about 80+ before you won't need flex under the cool side.

As Becky suggested radient heat panels would be even better and you wouldn't need any flexwatt at all...your choice.

[lord jackel]

So after I typed my response I do have a question...why such a large cage for a Ball? They don't need that much space and it will require LOTS of stuff in the cage so the Ball feels comfortable (and you don't risk him going off feed from stress). All the extra stuff you add will also mean you have lots more to clean.

[JoshJP7]

I would consider the heat panels... but @ 200$ a pop with 4 cages (eventually 8) is a little pricey right now... I currently use those cheap reptile whatever thermostats that let the temp drop like 8 degrees before they turn back on but I'm ordering a Helix or herpastat this weekend cause its def worth the money... Are there any thermostats that allow 2 heat settings? Where I could set the hot side @93 and the cool side @80 and it would control both? Id rather drop the extra cash on one that could do both (if its possible) over buying two... What I'll probably end up doing since I have 3 of those cheap reptile thermostats is if they dont make one that can do 2 temps Ill just use those for my cool side thermostats and set them to turn off at 83 so theyre back on around 77... Do you think its cheaper to go this route or would it be better cheaper to heat the whole room? Im thinking more flexwatt is the way to go.

I'm making larger enclosures because I currently use 96qt tubs for my larger snakes (600g+) and with two big hides a water dish and something to climb on there really isnt much room for them to roam at night. Right now their hides are the medium sized black box hides(zilla or something) but they are going to need the larger ones soon... Its not even possible to have 2 of the large hides a water dish and something to climb on in a 96qt (36x18x18)... I know alot of people will say "they dont need something to climb on" but mine climb everynight when theyre awake and I would like to continue to provide them with that option... If they choose to use it or not is their decision but I would like to atleast offer it... I just prefer to provide my snakes with more room to roam while theyre awake... just owner preference

[lord jackel]

I would consider the heat panels... but @ 200$ a pop with 4 cages (eventually 8) is a little pricey right now... I currently use those cheap reptile whatever thermostats that let the temp drop like 8 degrees before they turn back on but I'm ordering a Helix or herpastat this weekend cause its def worth the money... Are there any thermostats that allow 2 heat settings? Where I could set the hot side @93 and the cool side @80 and it would control both? Id rather drop the extra cash on one that could do both (if its possible) over buying two... What I'll probably end up doing since I have 3 of those cheap reptile thermostats is if they dont make one that can do 2 temps Ill just use those for my cool side thermostats and set them to turn off at 83 so theyre back on around 77... Do you think its cheaper to go this route or would it be better cheaper to heat the whole room? Im thinking more flexwatt is the way to go.

Herpstat Pro is a dual output Thermostat that allows 2 temps setting (basically it is just 2 thermostats built into one box). I don't think the heat panels are that much you should give ProProducts a call and get a quote...I have 2 panels in 4x2x2 cages and I think I paid $80 for each.

Whatever you decide I wouldn't do cheap on the cool side and proportional on the Hot side...this mixing of thermostats will have too much of a difference in temp control and cause the themostats to compete with each other...meaning one will work more than the other (likely the cheaper one)

[SatanicIntention]

The Herpstat 2 is two thermostats in one, while the Herpstat Pro is 4 thermostats in one.

I have the Herpstat 2 and really like it. And no, heat panels are far from $200 a pop, that's a little outlandish. More like $85-90 like LJ said.