building a rack

[Drew87]

hey guys buliding my first rack i dont know where i cant find a flexwatt system so i was thinkin about useing belly heaters could i just use the ones that you can buy at any petco the (under cage heater) just a bigger one to keep the heat up or do i need to use somethin else

[starmom]

You can use flex watt for belly too! Look at this RBI page:
http://www.reptilebasics.com/Heating-p-1-c-248.html.
Rich sells the tape and also has a couple of other goodies you might like too! He is a wealth of knowledge on heating, so giving him a call is worth it as well. He'll hook you up and answer any questions you might have! Good luck!!

[Brimstone111888]

Rich is awesome at reptile basics. He will wire the flexwatt for you. If you are using flexwatt you absolutely NEED a thermostat. He sells them also.

[Freakie_frog]

hey guys buliding my first rack i dont know where i cant find a flexwatt system so i was thinkin about useing belly heaters could i just use the ones that you can buy at any petco the (under cage heater) just a bigger one to keep the heat up or do i need to use something else

First you can wire your whole rack with flex watt for what one UTH from zoomed or T-rex will cost you.

go to http://www.reptilebasics.com/
Get you some flex watt of the right size what ever it is that you need and a good proportional thermostat. Do it right the first time and it will save you money/time/problems in the long run.

[Freakie_frog]

Drew here is how I have my adult and my juvi racks wired and taped down

[Blue Apple Herps]

and a good proportional thermostat. Do it right the first time and it will save you money/time/problems in the long run.

I couldn't agree more. For several years I used an el-cheapo ZooMed 500R thermostat. While it did it's job ok, temps would vary up to several degrees and I always was a little worried in the back of my head. I got a Herpstat a few years back and it's been the best money I've spent on my collection. In retrospect I wish I would have just bit the bullet from the get go and bought a high quality t-stat right off the bat.

[Freakie_frog]

I couldn't agree more. For several years I used an el-cheapo ZooMed 500R thermostat. While it did it's job ok, temps would vary up to several degrees and I always was a little worried in the back of my head. I got a Herpstat a few years back and it's been the best money I've spent on my collection. In retrospect I wish I would have just bit the bullet from the get go and bought a high quality t-stat right off the bat.

I wouldn't be with out mine I sleep better knowing my animals are controlled by helix

[Krazy99CL]

I wouldn't be with out mine I sleep better knowing my animals are controlled by helix

Totally agree. Dimmers, retrostats, etc all work but I trust my helix too! Sleep without worries is worth my $$$$$

[Hotshot]

come to think of it, a light dimmer would work if i hooked it up to the flexwatt then just put them probe on the flexxwat and turned the dimmer till i got the right heat lol. I wont do that I'm getting ranco but I'll make one just for a back up..

[PythonWallace]

come to think of it, a light dimmer would work if i hooked it up to the flexwatt then just put them probe on the flexxwat and turned the dimmer till i got the right heat lol. I wont do that I'm getting ranco but I'll make one just for a back up..

Two of my racks are rigged up with dimmers and they work fine. The only problem is that the night drop is my hand.