How do you heat your tubs??

well it sounds like a tub is the way to go as far as humidity and all but how do you accomplish getting the temps high enough in a tub? do you just use a uth and it gets that warm or do you have to place a lamp somewhere?? just needing a little help cause im probably gonna switch to a tub asap.. thanks guys ur so much help to us beginners

Flexwatt heats up the warm side and an electric room heater heats the cool end to 80*

is that the only way to heat the cool end?

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Originally Posted by wspeer

is that the only way to heat the cool end?

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Nope, plenty people use 2nd heating elements along with thermostats. How cold is the room it will be kept in?

depends on the time of year right now its around 70 or so

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Originally Posted by wspeer

depends on the time of year right now its around 70 or so

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WHat are you using to controls temps in your enclosure? A flexwatt/dimmer combo can be only like $10 if you want to use a dimmer.

what ive got is a UTH with a therstat that will control the hot end im just wondering about how to get the cool end to around 80

I use flexwatt run on a thermostat for a warm side of 90-92F, and also use an oil-filled heater on a thermostat to keep the ambient room temperature @ 78F, that in turn helps to keep the cool side of the tubs 80-82F.
-Jason

that sounds like it would work but it gonna be in my bedroom and id burn up at night

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Originally Posted by wspeer

what ive got is a UTH with a therstat that will control the hot end im just wondering about how to get the cool end to around 80

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In your case I would invest in either another UTH or piece of flexwatt and run that on a separate thermostat to keep the cool side at ~80F. If you are using a aquarium with screen lid try to cover a bit of the screen to hold in heat aswell, those screen tops don't really help to hold in the heat otherwise.

-Jason

thats why im debating on switching to a tub from a tank cause that screen top sucks for holding any humidity

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Originally Posted by wspeer

that sounds like it would work but it gonna be in my bedroom and id burn up at night

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You would be surprised. I did it for a few months.

what if i sodered afew holes in the top of the cool end and ran a black light a few inches above or whatever it had to be to achieve the 80 degree mark???

i am no genious but instead of an under tank heating pad why can't you put it ineed the bottom then like carpet and then what ever substraight ur using i used to breed fish and i used what is called an undergravel heater and it worked great just dont turn it up to high
but again i am currently awaiting getting any first ball python

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Originally Posted by wspeer

what if i sodered afew holes in the top of the cool end and ran a black light a few inches above or whatever it had to be to achieve the 80 degree mark???

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Unless I am mistaken, black lights put off next to no heat if any at all. If you want to do that, get a infrared bulb.

im actually running 60 watt black lights right now for my leos and it gets the temps over 90 in the basking area, doesnt matter though id use red black whatever doesnt really matter

Using a heat bulb may give you humidity issues, all that they really do is suck the humidity out of the air...which is fine for leos as long as you mist.

u think the humidity issues will still be there if i only had a few holes in the top for the heat to get through? probably so, but not near as bad as a tank with screen top huh?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wspeer

well it sounds like a tub is the way to go as far as humidity and all but how do you accomplish getting the temps high enough in a tub? do you just use a uth and it gets that warm or do you have to place a lamp somewhere?? just needing a little help cause im probably gonna switch to a tub asap.. thanks guys ur so much help to us beginners

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Go with flexwatt or an UTH, use a thermostat such as a Ranco or a Johnson to control the temperatures.

As far as supplies I recommend Rich @ Reptile Basics
http://www.reptilebasics.com/

and...for specifically reptile tubs
http://reptiletubs.com/

well that would work if u had the whole cage at the same temp but u need a hot and cold side

2 thermostats, 2 strips of flexwatt. No one said this would be cheap

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Originally Posted by wspeer

well that would work if u had the whole cage at the same temp but u need a hot and cold side

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Just heat the warm side of the tub to 90-92F the ambient temperature in a correctly sized tub should give you the right cool side temperatures. That is as long as your room isn't freezing cold.;)

-Jason

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Originally Posted by wspeer

u think the humidity issues will still be there if i only had a few holes in the top for the heat to get through? probably so, but not near as bad as a tank with screen top huh?

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In a tub setup you will want a few holes to vent the enclosure, but not for a heat bulb to put heat through (you'd probably just melt the top)...I was refering to heat bulbs if you use them with a screened aquarium.

i understand that and i wouldnt rest the lamp on top of the plastic i would arrange it so it would be a few inches away to prevent melting,anyway hopefully i can get the temps right with just my hot side uth and no cold side adjustments, one more question how much of my tub should have the uth underneith it? 1/3 or so up to 1/2????

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Originally Posted by wspeer

i understand that and i wouldnt rest the lamp on top of the plastic i would arrange it so it would be a few inches away to prevent melting,anyway hopefully i can get the temps right with just my hot side uth and no cold side adjustments, one more question how much of my tub should have the uth underneith it? 1/3 or so up to 1/2????

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What size tub are you using? SInce your room is cold, I would do 1/2 to see if it warms up the cool side enough.

not sure havnt got it yet, whats the normal size? i was thinking of one like 36x18 or so ,ill just have to play with it see what i can do, thanks guys for all the help

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Originally Posted by wspeer

not sure havnt got it yet, whats the normal size? i was thinking of one like 36x18 or so ,ill just have to play with it see what i can do, thanks guys for all the help

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How big is your snake?

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Originally Posted by wspeer

well that would work if u had the whole cage at the same temp but u need a hot and cold side

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How big of a tub are you planning to use? This will determine how much flexwatt you need to get a good gradient. Also, what are your room temps? If the room is too cold it will take a lot more to get the right temps on both sides of the tub.

I've merged your two threads for you, since they are both similar, if not the same question. :)

I use flex watt in most of my racks, but have used zoo med heat cable in one of them and it seems to be working just fine. I seem to be one of the only people around here who doesn't care about the temps at the cool end of the tub. What I DO like is the long and narrow tubs like the Iris CB-70 tubs or the Sterilite 1960 tubs, it gives you a more graduated heat zone so that the snake has a wider range of temps to choose from.

I keep the thermostat on the furnace at 68 degrees in the winter but my herp room stays at between 70-75 degrees most of the time, (usually closer to 70) mainly due to all the the heating elements in the room. Otherwise I don't make any effort to heat the room and I don't supply any heating source for the 'cool' end.

Mark