Belly heat for wooden cage

I'm building a wodden cage for my BP. I've got infared heat lights to keep the temps up to snuff, but would like to add some belly heat.

I have some of this repti heat cable laying around:
http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Reptil.../dp/B001OVBEEK

One thing I could do is cut a hole in the bottom and attach a plexiglass window. Tape the heat cable to that. I'd really rater not cut a giant hole in the bottom of my cage though. The plexi is going to deform and bow/sag over time I would think. Especially when subjected to heat.

Any other ideas or suggestions on how to add belly heat to a wooden cage would be great.

I also have a UTH I could remove from the aquarium I am currently using.

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Originally Posted by VooDooDoc

I'm building a wodden cage for my BP. I've got infared heat lights to keep the temps up to snuff, but would like to add some belly heat.

I have some of this repti heat cable laying around:
http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Reptil.../dp/B001OVBEEK

One thing I could do is cut a hole in the bottom and attach a plexiglass window. Tape the heat cable to that. I'd really rater not cut a giant hole in the bottom of my cage though. The plexi is going to deform and bow/sag over time I would think. Especially when subjected to heat.

Any other ideas or suggestions on how to add belly heat to a wooden cage would be great.

I also have a UTH I could remove from the aquarium I am currently using.

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Instead of plexi you could use tempered glass.

Big Apple Herp( bigappleherp.com ) has two waterproof heat mats that are designed around being able to place them inside the tank. The first is the IntelliTemp mat http://www.bigappleherp.com/Intellit...=2&category=14 which are pretty resaonable in price. The other is a Kane mat but they are pretty expensive.

I used flexwatt in mine. I have never had a problem

Just a thought, can't a ball python get burns from direct heat? I'm kind of a noob so still learning. I heard balls getting burns from heat rocks.

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Originally Posted by spankege

Just a thought, can't a ball python get burns from direct heat? I'm kind of a noob so still learning. I heard balls getting burns from heat rocks.

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As long as you keep the heat at the right temp they are good. We use thermostats to make sure the heat stays at a correct temp. Up to 95 is good for a ball.

Just don't want anyone to get burns! Thanks for the information. Im switching to tubs :) very easy with heating, humidity and cleaning.

I would not recommend flexwatt inside a enclosure. Kane mats intellitemp are safer due to the lower temps and water proof nature. personally I would be hesitant of this too. I would not use a wooden bottom but instead a PVC base and heat through the enclosure.

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Originally Posted by spankege

Just don't want anyone to get burns! Thanks for the information. Im switching to tubs :) very easy with heating, humidity and cleaning.

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I might give you cleaning humidity perhaps but heating? generally not if the room it is in is cool. The issue becomes ambient air and cool end temps tubs the simplest way is to heat the whole room the tub is in to hold these.

I wonder if I could just sandwich the heat cable between plexi and the cage floor. So it's inside the cage, but the snake can't get at the tape. If I set the temp on my thermostat to 95 or so I don't think I'd have to worry about it over heating. It'd be sort of like sticking flex-watt in the cage I think.

Just as an experiment (don't try this at home kids) I taped the heat cable to a piece of plexi and turned it over on a piece of plywood. Then plugged it in without a thermostat. Temp shot right up to 130 degrees when the loops were only 1/4 inch apart. Around 120 where they were 1/2-3/4 inch apart.

Then just to take it up a notch (seriously don't do this) I piled a heavy blanket on top of it. Temp went up to around 160. Not enough to catch anything on fire, but freaking hot enough to burn a snake, not to mention didn't feel good on my skin.

So despite what the package says you should always use a thermostat with this stuff, same goes for UTHs.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

I would not recommend flexwatt inside a enclosure. Kane mats intellitemp are safer due to the lower temps and water proof nature. personally I would be hesitant of this too. I would not use a wooden bottom but instead a PVC base and heat through the enclosure.

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The heat cable is water resistent*. Yes there is really a * by it :)

I tried to find XPVC to use for the cage but nothing local. Its way expensive too. I promised my wife I'd keep it under 100 bucks. The kane mats are insanely expensive but the intellitemp seem about the same as a normal Zoomed UTH from the local pet shop.

The problem is the max temp of the heating source cable /flexwatt gets bloody hot. The position of the probe must be interior and if it pulls free or the t-stat fails the temp could become unacceptably hot. herpstat 1 units would be a touch safer the concern I have is still the max temp. Personally I run max out tests on all my heaters before a snake ever sees the enclosure I re-work the position if I get over 120 interior maxed temp. By my own guides cable interior is simply unacceptable.

I believe there are ways to minimize the risk the herpstat 1 with relay (the unit is more likely to fail off than on) over and under probe set points (protects against the probe being pulled off) as well as slow heat (it will not go from power failure to maxed out ever it slowly builds power and heat rather than just kick on.) Personally I would still run a failsafe with what you are proposing. Too, I do not think I would ever consider any other T-stat other than the herpstat 1 (+) for this kind of a set up due to the safety measures built in.

if you do not have a herpstat 1 and heed my suggestion it would be less expensive finding the PVC (xPVC is less efficient to heat and tends to sag more I would suggest regular PVC it is with out air bubbles in it and has lower insulation when you are trying to heat through, that is a good thing)

Kanes are very pricey for sure kick butt mats but killer price.

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Originally Posted by KMG

Big Apple Herp( bigappleherp.com ) has two waterproof heat mats that are designed around being able to place them inside the tank. The first is the IntelliTemp mat http://www.bigappleherp.com/Intellit...=2&category=14 which are pretty resaonable in price. The other is a Kane mat but they are pretty expensive.

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I would suggest having something over the heat mat if you put it directly in the cage, that way you get the heat, but prevent burns.
Also, I'd look for some pads that when they fail, the temp goes down, because some, especially things like heat rocks, the temperature goes sky high, and can cause some serious burns.

The more I think about the more I am thinking of replacing the bottom with a piece of tempered glass. Any ideas how thick I should go? I think standard is 1/8".

I would call a glass place and explain your project and see what they say.