Heating questions-How much will flexwatt raise temperature on the cold side?

So I am considering getting a tub for my ball python. I will be getting 4 inch flexwatt. The temperature will be set to 90F on the inside of the tub over the hot spot.

If my room temperature is at 72F, what will the approximate temperature on the cold side of the tub be?

I will most likely be using 32 quart tubs.

Only way to know for sure is to check the temps on the cool side when you have everything set up.

My cold sides usually stays at room temp.
I regulate it at about 78-80 with a space heater with a built in thermostat.

Your ambient room temperature will dictate the warmth of your cool side.

Tubs have basically no insulation the ambient room temps are effectively the same as the room the answer is to either heat the room up more or use a different enclosure type that offers more insulation values. Some have successfully bumped up the ambient temps by building a insulated box for it to sit in. This is a lot of work and to my mind build a custom enclosure would be easier.

The down side of tubs they cost lots of power in heating then if you are in a cool environment.

Dang. Alright, well do I have any options then? My snake will be kept in my room so I'd rather not keep the ambient temp set at 80. What's my best option for a well insulated cage that holds heat and humidity?

Put a space heater with a thermostat in the snake room? People do this ? Is this safe?

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Originally Posted by gman8585

Put a space heater with a thermostat in the snake room? People do this ? Is this safe?

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I do and its amazing. An oil filled radiator connected to the secon probe on my herpstat.. Works flawlessly.

If your using 32qt tubs in a rack and setting the temp to 90 and your probe sensor is set over the hot side your tub in the front on your cool side should be in the mid 80s. A 32qt tub isnt alot of real estate to have a dramatic fluctuation in temps. My cb70 racks are set at 90 and the fronts of the tubs sit at about 85. Ambient temps in my snake rooms are 82 degrees. But i could drop it to the high 70s and the tubs will still stay the same. When night dropping i keep the ambient temps in the room to 80 so i get a 10 degree drop during cooling cycles. I do tgis year round cause i have 3 different breeding schedules so i can breed year round

Worry about temps first forget humidity until you get the temps correct. Temps will cause all kinds of issues quickly humidity is not a major concern unless it is very low for a long time or very high with poor air flow.

Tubs are a pain to heat correctly unless you are willing to heat a room up. They are likely the hardest of all the enclosure types to get correct in this way. You can start by building a box that has an open face (so you can check on the snake easily) made from ridged foam insulation that is about 2 inches larger in all directions than the tub. This may be enough on its own but if not you may have to add some secondary heat source to the insulated box a small uth on the back wall maybe enough to do so. You will likely not need it to be regulated if you make sure the tub does not come closer than 1 or 2 inches of it.

That may work, if that fails You may have to add a uth for the cool side as well but that adds a second t-stat to control it as well. Personally I'd recommend *highly* with 2 uths a fail safe as well so that is a third one.


To be honest if the box does not work well at all. Personally I'd give up and heat the room or buy a custom plastic enclosure and heat that. I like to add a fluorescent light inside the enclosure as it warms up the ambient temps perfectly and the plastic insulates enough to hold the ambient through much of the night.