AP T3 Heat and Humidity Question

Ok, I ordered a T3 for my soon to buy BP. I ordered the cage with one 8 1/2" hole and without the belly heat. I'm wondering how I should plan on heating the cage. Should I have gotten the built in heat AND use a light part of the time? I was thinking of a human heating pad and light but if the built heat is way better I'll change it.

Thoughts on what will heat this cage best? Thanks in advance!

I personally would have gotten the built in heat as it's not that much more expensive and saves you the trouble of adding extra components. Probably will heat much better as well.

I may add it to my order. I wasn't sure and they are 4 weeks out so I've got time! Thanks for the response. Anyone own one of these with the heat?

I think JamminJonah and jotay both do. They should be around soon to answer some questions. Welcome to the forums! Glad to have ya around :)

How rude of me!! Welcome, great to have you here!

Thanks so much. I've been lurking for a while. I've never seen a more helpful forum on any subject!

I agree, I've been to many, but when I found bp.net, I stopped looking. Great community here and you won't find more helpful, knowledgable people anywhere else IMHO! :community:

So add the belly heat? Should I use a light too for heat? Thanks in advance!

You will need the belly heat. I don't think the heating pad would do a lot on these cages. I would get the cut outs. Actually I would get both cut outs and just ask them to save and ship the actual plastic they cut out for the light holes. Then if you don't need you can put back in place. That is what I did.
I have the T11 and I need the belly heat and two lights w/ 75watt night glo bulbs, but I keep my house like 75 in the summer and the cage is by the window and ac vent.
W/ the belly heat and two lights all on t-stats and reptibark the humidity stays around 50-55% without me doing a thing
These cages are great. And just call them and tell them what you nedd and they will work it out for ya.

I actually got on the waiting list for the T3 as well. The lady who I spoke to (who was EXTREMELY NICE) said that an overhead bulb will heat the cage just fine for a ball python. So I don't know what to do. I may get the belly heat option, but then I'll have to spend another 40 for the belly heat, plus more on a thermostat, because she said that the heat cables will easily reach 130 degrees without a therm or a rheostat.

By the way, would you use a thermostat or a rheostat to control the belly heat on those cages?

A rheostat is a device to vary the amount of a current passing through it to complete a circuit. A thermostat is basically a rheostat with a temperature sensor attached to it. If you are gonna monitor the temp in the cage 24/7 you could go with a rheostat, but i'd go with the thermostat. It does some of the work for ya :)

I'm just trying to figure out what to do. Although I do believe there are benefits to belly heat, I'm still not 100% convinced of the necessity of it.

THey can survive without it - then again they could survive on an awful lot less than we are willing to give em - but why push them into any sort of subsistence living or marginal existence?

yeah, $40 is no big deal for something that will help optimize their living conditions. there's really no reason to skimp on it since you are going for a really nice enclosure to begin with.

How do you set up the belly heat with a thermostat? Wondering about hotspots too with the heat cables through the bottom.

i would get the belly heat and the cut out, depends really on how your house/room is setup. you could just use a uth with a thermostat. always choose a thermostat over a rheostat. the thermostat will regulate your heaters regardless of room conditions,rheostats will not. by the way i'm in the hvac business so i have some knowledge of heating/cooling. elevatethis i notice your in richmond, me too. i can get thermostats like the ranco and johnson controls ones wired up with a 6 outlet strip to run multiple tanks/cages on (cages must be setup identical for this to work) i run these on my green tree pythons cages as well. hope this may help.

thanks

vaughn

Changed my order to include the belly heat. One thing I didn't ask was if the belly heat goes across the whole bottom of the cage or just one side. Anyone know?

When I spoke to the lady at AP, she said it goes through the left 1/3 of the cage.

And Vaughn, how exactly is the thermostat set up with the belly heat option? (like wiring and everything)

Perfect!

Just make sure you get the overhead heat lamp vent on the same side as the belly heat....I can see that being a stupid mistake that might easily be made...

the thermostat has two power cords from it, one plugs in to your wall outlet, the second one has a 6 outlet surge protector wired in. you just plug into wall and then plug your heaters into the surge protector and set your thermostat to desired temps. there is an ad on ks classifieds in the caging section with pictures of these. i can match those prices and i can get both brands the ranco and johnson controls. they are pretty much equal in quality and performance. both are commercial quality and well known names in the hvac field. i use these for my cages and have not had any problems at all. these can run 6 heaters/cages at once provided cages are setup identical. these do cost more than some simple thermostats but if you were to buy 6 $30 thermostats you would spend more than $75.00. hope this may help

thanks

vaughn

I use a Helix DBS1000 on my AP w/ belly heat. Helix is what most breeders use and I love it. They run around 100-140 depending on where you buy.
All you need to do is just plug the heat cable into the plug on the Helix and set the temp. It will give you a reading on what the temp is and when it's off or on.
It's a proportional T-stat so instead of just off and on it increases or lowers the elec current to the cables to keep a steady temp. In the event of a power failure when the elec comes back on it resets itself and has a auto cut off at about 110 degrees.
Whe your cage comes on the bottom underside you will see where and how the heat cables run.
I love my AP and Ozzy seems to also. :)