Hey tankers!

Ever consider insulating your glass tank with sponge neoprene? You know, wet suit material! It's even available with an adhesive side. :reading:

Neat thought. But i think the main reason people use glass aquariums is to provide more of a view of the animal inside. If u cover it up you take away from the visibility. i use tubs but this is just my 2 cents.

I don't think heating is really a big issue with tanks. It's usually humidity maintenance that gets people pulling their hair out. Insulating with that wouldn't hurt anything, and might help maintaining steady ambient temps, but if your room temps are low enough that you believe you need to insulate, you'll still need an overhead light on a dimmer. Which means you'll still be battling humidity ;) Give it a go though! Let us know how it works out / cost effectiveness vs foamboard etc :)

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Originally Posted by Bill T

Neat thought. But i think the main reason people use glass aquariums is to provide more of a view of the animal inside. If u cover it up you take away from the visibility. i use tubs but this is just my 2 cents.

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Just leave the front uncovered!

You could just leave the front uncovered. But like stated earlier if ur temps are that low that u need to insulate i think uve got bigger problems.

The thing is, I have no temps. Putting my first snake enclosure together, little by little. Kinda like a poor-mans Monster Cage...kinda.

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Originally Posted by JeRMz

The thing is, I have no temps. Putting my first snake enclosure together, little by little. Kinda like a poor-mans Monster Cage...kinda.

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Oh...so what is the reasoning behind insulating the tank?

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Originally Posted by RoseyReps

Oh...so what is the reasoning behind insulating the tank?

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Peace of mind, mainly. Gets cold in NH! We try to keep the heat bill as manageable as possible. It's a 20 long. I currently have a Hydrofarm (still in it's package). Saving up for a VE 200. Still undecided on which brand of uth to get.

I have my little guy in a tank. Haven't had any issues with temps even with the house temps being 70ish and having a fan in the room. Humidity isn't much of a problem just having to re-wet towels every 2-3 days. Haven't seen humidity drop below 60%.


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Understood :) Insulating should help a bit and also give the snake added security (I assume the wet suit material would be black/dark colored anyways)

I use Zilla mats on my tanks, no issues thus far *knocks on wood* But I hear the go-to awesomesauce UTH are the Ultratherms. (http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultrath...ater-uth-6-x11) Bonus, they seem a good bit cheaper than buying from a pet store. But calculating in shipping you would probably break even. I know if I ever buy another UTH (Converting all but quarantine to racks, so not sure when that will be) it will be an Ultratherm.

It gets cold up here in northern mn 2 but i never considered insulating a tank. I only use glass tanks for rodents now tho. The reptiles are all in tub rack systems i built. I will say be very very carefull with that hydrofarm, I had those fry on me last year and they werent even a month old. One failed up and cooked the eggs in the incubator and the other failed and shut off. Would have prefered that. lol. Its a cool idea. Best of luck with it bud.

Hmm...maybe neoprene is a tad overboard. Been looking at foam board, too. I want my future friend to feel secure, hence the blackening out of 75% of his enclosure. Construction paper just doesn't do it for me. I love a good project! Yeah, ambient temps & humidity are on my mind.

I use black shelf liner for my tanks. It's kind of foamy / spongy, easy to wrap, and one side is shiny/glossy with the other side being matte. That + some black duct tape = happy snakes and keeper. But I'm a cheapskate and not a very handy person...soo yea. lol :D

I used the cardboard the tank came in. Used double sided tape to keep it on the sides. The tank is nice for observation but after 2 weeks of maintaining it I'm getting tired of it lol. It's good if you only plan on having one BP but I'm sure I'll have more later. It's perfect for my beardies, not so much for anything that requires constant humidity. I was planning on getting a rack later on but that may be sooner than I thought.


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That's just it, I'm hoping to break the humidity code for glass! :rofl:

I hear you man. I would think that maybe a misting system or custom humidifier kinda like chameleon keepers use would work but then I would be worrying about mold and stuff. Not to mention having to keep up with all that stuff seems like A LOT just for one tank. idk.. But I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Good luck.


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Originally Posted by RoseyReps

I don't think heating is really a big issue with tanks.

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It absolutely is for me. Minnesota is darn cold this time of year, and glass is a terribly poor heat insulator. I could never happily keep a tropical python species in a glass tank/vivarium during the colder 6 months of our year.

Luckily it works out, because I can keep my animals that need a cooler winter season in glass, and the snakes in PVC racks/cages.

Like the idea. What is the cost of neoprene though? I checked one site and a 51" x 83" piece is 89.80 USD.

The foam board idea sounds awesome. Checking home depot.com I found a 1inx2x8 piece for 10.58 USD. Color would be the thing though which could possibly be solved with some black primer/spray paint.

OP- I have used 1 Zilla UTH with great success; Zoo Med, not so much. Good thread btw.

Rosey- ty for the link for the Ultratherms, I'll have to check one out. :-)

Can you fine people recommend a uth? I've been looking at the Zoomed and Ultratherm. Not really a fan of permanently sticking one on. I would rather use foil tape. Thanx! :confusd:

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Originally Posted by Pyrate81

Like the idea. What is the cost of neoprene though? I checked one site and a 51" x 83" piece is 89.80 USD.

The foam board idea sounds awesome. Checking home depot.com I found a 1inx2x8 piece for 10.58 USD. Color would be the thing though which could possibly be solved with some black primer/spray paint.

OP- I have used 1 Zilla UTH with great success; Zoo Med, not so much. Good thread btw.

Rosey- ty for the link for the Ultratherms, I'll have to check one out. :-)

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I found this on Amazon...http://www.amazon.com/Sponge-Neopren...+x+54+wide+x+1 Perfect size to do my 20 long (back, 2 sides, and extra for bottom).

+1000 for Ultratherm. They aren't permanent and you use foil tape to attach them.

<< Noted Zilla in my post. No luck with Zoo Meds personally.

I believe Rosey did as well.

My only issue with sticking them to the tank is that you can't(or is it shouldn't?) take them off to move them. :-/

A good cypress substrate, misting once a day, 70-80% of mesh screen covered by insulated bubble wrap. All this adds up to a constant 55-65% humidity and 80cool/90hot temps. I couldn't be happier with my glass terrariums.

Ive noticed since fixing my humidity problem by aluminum foiling 3/4s the top of the tank's wire screen top that my overall temps are now more stable and steady too....just my 2 cents...

X2 ULTRATHERM


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Haha, you guys live in the nice n' warm(er) south, tho! Sometimes it feels like Siberia, here! :rofl:

I found a foam sort of poster board at the dollar store. It comes in different colors too. It's black on both sides, with foam in the middle. I used that on the backside and ends of my boas tank. Looks nice, and really seems to help with holding heat in.

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Originally Posted by DrDooLittle

I found a foam sort of poster board at the dollar store. It comes in different colors too. It's black on both sides, with foam in the middle. I used that on the backside and ends of my boas tank. Looks nice, and really seems to help with holding heat in.

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I heard about that stuff from someone else. I combed all of the dollar stores, family dollars, etc. to no avail. :mad:

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Originally Posted by JeRMz

Haha, you guys live in the nice n' warm(er) south, tho! Sometimes it feels like Siberia, here! :rofl:

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Anything below 60F-50F is cold for me lol. It's 70F with humidity almost 90% living next to a river right now.


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Originally Posted by JeRMz

I heard about that stuff from someone else. I combed all of the dollar stores, family dollars, etc. to no avail. :mad:

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Do you have a "Dollar tree"? That's which one I got it from.

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Originally Posted by JCH979

Anything below 60F-50F is cold for me lol. It's 70F with humidity almost 90% living next to a river right now.


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38 degrees in good ol' New Hampster, today! :blownose: ULTRATHERM it is!

Thanks, everyone!!! I'll keep ya posted on my "Frankentank"! :devilish:

I have a handful of tanks and I too insulate this time of year. Never though to use neo however good notion. I take mine off in the summer so I just use foam insulation board myself. 30$ a 4x8 sheet.

I use side turned tanks (no humidity issues and less heating issues) but with and with out the insulation I have about 6ºF difference in ambient air temps. So absolutely it makes a difference why I need to take it off in the summer when the room is mid to high 70s don't need/want the extra.

I like ultratherms as well. I believe any of the low wattage UTH are FAR FAR safer than the high. T-stats do fail, probes can be moved. It is peace of mind to know that the UTH does not get hot enough (typically no more than 100ºF) to cause permanent harm. I don't suggest using high wattage units unless there is a need.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

I have a handful of tanks and I too insulate this time of year. Never though to use neo however good notion. I take mine off in the summer so I just use foam insulation board myself. 30$ a 4x8 sheet.

I use side turned tanks (no humidity issues and less heating issues) but with and with out the insulation I have about 6ºF difference in ambient air temps. So absolutely it makes a difference why I need to take it off in the summer when the room is mid to high 70s don't need/want the extra.

I like ultratherms as well. I believe any of the low wattage UTH are FAR FAR safer than the high. T-stats do fail, probes can be moved. It is peace of mind to know that the UTH does not get hot enough (typically no more than 100ºF) to cause permanent harm. I don't suggest using high wattage units unless there is a need.

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I saw your side-turned tank post. Nice!!! I told my Wifey earlier today that I'm gonna be a lil sad the day I put a BP in my tank, because the tank will be finished! XD I love tinkering with these kind of things, the parts are just as cool as their inhabitants! Btw, what is your opinion on VE? Thanks, Bro

Honestly the only selling feature is the salesman. The best feature is the guy whom sells them Rich is a good person. The units seem ok but helix started the proportional T-stats then herpstat and ecozone herpkeeper (at least in N America) Each added features and function increasing the margin for safety. Then VE the base unit (200) is basically a helix. Just look at the feature list of the herpstat ecozone and herpkeeper and you will see what I mean. The clear competition is the herpstat the eco and herpkeeper are quite a bit more cash. The herpstats offer the state of the art safety features the others and just playing catch up. I would suggest for a basic unit the intro+ for the most part the missing features are not needed with ball pythons (dimming proportional is nice but not necessary the only reason not to use pulse is it can buzz under some conditions) It is 109$ I think and is as solid as anything else around packed with the most safety features of any on the market.