Another Heating Question.

[AVALover5498]

Ok, please bear with me, I'm a noob to Ball Pythons but I figure the best way to learn is to read and ask questions so hear I go.

I'm going to be building a cage just like blueapplepaste made for under $100 Here's a pic, I hope he doesn't mind:



The main question I have is heating. I have been reading so many threads on heating it's getting confusing.

So, what would be the best way of heating these cages? What I was thinking was Putting down a 2 foot section of flexwatt in each cage and then putting Tiles down over the top of it. And siliconing the whole thing into place. But someone said it would be just like a heat rock. Is this true? Wouldn't the thermostat keep it from getting too hot? I thought the problem with a heat rock was that it runs at full heat because there is no thermostat so it gets to hot and causes burns?

There are some things about the cage I'm going to change like the back to keep in humidity and such but the main problem I'm having right now is the heat. Is there someone out there who can help out?

-Chris-

[juddb]

The picture is just a white box with a red x, im sure its just my computer though. But my question to you is why would you need tile in the enclosure? Especially if you have a thermostat you wouldnt have to worry about the snake burning him/herself anyway...

[AVALover5498]

I can see the picture....can anyone else not?

Well, if I don't have down some tile, then i would have just exposed flexwatt...is that ok? I was only going to use enough tile to cover the flexwatt. Like I said I'm a noob so any suggestions about how I should heat it would be great.

-Chris-

[JoshJP7]

I can see it... Dont use tile... go with thing vinyl... Thats what I used with my custom cages and it cost like 20$ for a roll at Lowes and I got enough to make prolly 8 cages that are 4x2x1.5... Other than that youll be fine... I got some pictures of my set ups in my gallery you can check out... If you wanna PM me and get a little more information Id be glad to help you out. I love to see people who offer their snakes more room!

[juddb]

Oh i see, i was just confused because i couldnt see the pic. Custom cages. I was thinking glass cages..

[AVALover5498]

So should I only put the Vinyl over the flexwatt or over the floor of the whole tank? Also, do you think 2 feet of 11" flexwatt on one side will be enough heat? Or should I add more?

-Chris-

[AVALover5498]

Also I'm going to be putting down a couple inches of like aspen or some other kind of bedding so If I have to cover the whole floor I really don't mind. Will probably be easier to clean anyway haha.

-Chris-

[JoshJP7]

Put the Vinyl over the whole bottom... Getting piss n poop on the wood prolly wont help out the durability... Just to be on the safe side... 2 FT should be plenty... I have 1 ft on the warm side and 2 ft on the cool side... When I build my next set of 4 enclosures I plan on only using 1ft on each side... I use a foot on the cool side because i thought i was going to be keeping these cages in a room that was very cold in the winter... Turns out I have a whole room to dedicate to my snakes so the ambient temp is 78 so I dont need the cool side flexwatt... As far as the aspen... I say you can that Idea and just go with newspaper... It doesnt look as nice but its much much easier to clean.. Depending on the snake and how much it poops/pees you might need to be changing the aspen a couple times a week... could get pretty expensive over time... The newspaper is free after you buy it for like 35cents so mine as well get all the use out of it... What i do when i clean is take out the newspaper... wipe the vinyl down with a baby wipe... then wipe it down again with a clean towel... Works very good and takes like .2 to clean. Let me know if you need any other info on the tanks. good luck

[AVALover5498]

Put the Vinyl over the whole bottom... Getting piss n poop on the wood prolly wont help out the durability... Just to be on the safe side... 2 FT should be plenty... I have 1 ft on the warm side and 2 ft on the cool side... When I build my next set of 4 enclosures I plan on only using 1ft on each side... I use a foot on the cool side because i thought i was going to be keeping these cages in a room that was very cold in the winter... Turns out I have a whole room to dedicate to my snakes so the ambient temp is 78 so I dont need the cool side flexwatt... As far as the aspen... I say you can that Idea and just go with newspaper... It doesnt look as nice but its much much easier to clean.. Depending on the snake and how much it poops/pees you might need to be changing the aspen a couple times a week... could get pretty expensive over time... The newspaper is free after you buy it for like 35cents so mine as well get all the use out of it... What i do when i clean is take out the newspaper... wipe the vinyl down with a baby wipe... then wipe it down again with a clean towel... Works very good and takes like .2 to clean. Let me know if you need any other info on the tanks. good luck

Thanx JoshJP7. I didn't even think of what the cost of the aspen would be haha.

Ok, cool. Sounds like a plan. Thanx for all the info everyone...I'm off to HomeDepot!

-Chris-