how did you mount your radiant heat panel?

Hi all,

first post. I'm a new snake mom, I just got my baby this month. I'm having trouble keeping the temp in the cage up now that the weather has turned.

I'd like to buy a radiant heat panel but I'm not quite sure how to mount it. I have a 20 gallon glass tank with a metal screen on top and I'm not sure that I can screw it in anywhere as the reptilebasics site seems to imply.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to mount a RHP over a metal screen?

Thanks a million,
my cold snake and I

The only cage I know of that they work with are PVC cages like animal plastics. Theres probably a way to mount it to the top but Im not sure

yikes. hopefully someone has a janky way they can get me hip to, I'm not ready to upgrade to pvc :(
I might have to explore other options like additional UTHs. I'm thinking of sticking one to the (cool) side of my tank that's where I'm having the most issues

What heat sorce are you using currently? If you are only using a heat mat(Which should be on a thermostat) than you could just add a heat lamp. Although the humidity becomes a pain in the behind when using a lamp :rolleyes:

I have a UTH (on the hot side) and a heat lamp (sort of in the middle). not really having problems with humidity, when I need it higher I put wet towels over the top of the cage.

I'm probably going to insulate the sides with cork, but I don't think it'll be enough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by casedbhloe

I have a UTH (on the hot side) and a heat lamp (sort of in the middle). not really having problems with humidity, when I need it higher I put wet towels over the top of the cage.

I'm probably going to insulate the sides with cork, but I don't think it'll be enough.

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what wattage bulb are you using? is it a CHE or regular heat bulb? how are you regulating your heat sources?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tttaylorrr

what wattage bulb are you using? is it a CHE or regular heat bulb? how are you regulating your heat sources?

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thats a good question lol, I believe its 70 watt, just a regular heat bulb. I know I should have a thermostat attached to my UTH but I don't right now. I have a laser thermometer though and I check the heat often, it usually stays pretty steady around 90. I'm honestly fine with it being warm these days since the rest of the tank is so cold. going to get a thermostat though, probably at the same time I buy the cork (getting them from amazon).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by casedbhloe

thats a good question lol, I believe its 70 watt, just a regular heat bulb. I know I should have a thermostat attached to my UTH but I don't right now. I have a laser thermometer though and I check the heat often, it usually stays pretty steady around 90. I'm honestly fine with it being warm these days since the rest of the tank is so cold. going to get a thermostat though, probably at the same time I buy the cork (getting them from amazon).

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unplug the UTH immediately. you're risking the safety of your snake by running the UTH unregulated. purchase a thermostat NOW. this one can be used for a year or so while you save up for a better and more reliable one (Herpstat brand).

i use a 100 W CHE for my 20gal, so you might need to up the wattage. get that bulb on a thermostat or rheostat. ALL heat sources MUST be regulated. there are no exceptions.

what are the warm/cool -side ambient temps for your enclosure? how are you measuring these temps and how cold are we talking here? i'm assuming you're talking about your hot spot when you said "pretty steady around 90," but you don't sound confident in that number. you NEED to know the exact temperatures of your entire enclosure, and this is why thermostats are so important.

Call Boaphile... on the bottom of this page he seems to have RHPs that fit/cover 10-20 gallon tanks...

http://www.boaphileplastics.com/radiant.html

Unplug the UTH before your snake gets burned, they can pop over 120*F in minutes and a vet bill for a burned snake isn't cheap. You need to check the temperature of the glass floor over the UTH because snakes burrow.

A heat lamp + UTH should have no problem keeping a 20-gal tank warm, though it will dry out quickly. Covering the screen top with foil helps a bit but it's not a great solution.

You can certainly add a second UTH on the cool side, with its own thermostat set to create a "hot spot" in the low 80's. The other one should be regulated so it's around 90*F.