enclosure problems

hey guys i have a 66 qt rubbermaid i got which i cut out the top and replaced about 80% of it with .25 inch hardware cloth (wire mesh) because i did not want to risk melting any plastic. I am having problems with heating and whatnot. I have a human heating pad underneath the rubbermain and a 100 watt bulb above it...my goal was to attempt to get ride of the heat lamp by using heating pads...but i cant hold heat very well....what are some suggestions to keep heat and humidity in a situation like this with an open top?

You could always go get another top. Taking that much out of the top of the rubbermaid basically makes it much like a glass aquarium in function. If you want to keep using the rubbermaid and ditch the light, it might not be a bad idea to get another top for it. Just make sure you drill some holes in the sides of the rubbermaid so your bp can breathe :)

i have a human heating pad under the tank now....just one on the hot side and i have it on the medium setting...i have the rubbermaid sitting directly on top of it, is this ok??? also, how many holes do u think are necesarry?

any advice for an open top rubbermaid??? maybe a lamp and a heating pad? would that be ideal???

what are the temps in the room the rubbermaid is in? how long is the 66 qt? i would do a full top, and poke/drill around 20-30 holes all around the rubbermaid and see what that does. if the room is say 65-70 deg. it is going to be harder to get that tub up to mid 80's !!!

thanks
vaughn

I have about 10 holes drilled on each side of my rubbermaid.

Seems to me cutting out that much of the top kind of defeats the functionality of using a Rubbermaid/Sterilite enclosure. I've never tried it that way though. I just use heating pads as a heat source and they provide more than enough warmth (it's rare to have to set them higher than 'low'). I put holes in the sides and top (using a soldering iron) to help regulate/maintain air flow, temperature, and humidity.