building a rack

hey guys buliding my first rack i dont know where i cant find a flexwatt system so i was thinkin about useing belly heaters could i just use the ones that you can buy at any petco the (under cage heater) just a bigger one to keep the heat up or do i need to use somethin else

You can use flex watt for belly too! Look at this RBI page:
http://www.reptilebasics.com/Heating-p-1-c-248.html.
Rich sells the tape and also has a couple of other goodies you might like too! He is a wealth of knowledge on heating, so giving him a call is worth it as well. He'll hook you up and answer any questions you might have! Good luck!!

Rich is awesome at reptile basics. He will wire the flexwatt for you. If you are using flexwatt you absolutely NEED a thermostat. He sells them also.

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Originally Posted by Drew420

hey guys buliding my first rack i dont know where i cant find a flexwatt system so i was thinkin about useing belly heaters could i just use the ones that you can buy at any petco the (under cage heater) just a bigger one to keep the heat up or do i need to use something else

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First you can wire your whole rack with flex watt for what one UTH from zoomed or T-rex will cost you.

go to http://www.reptilebasics.com/
Get you some flex watt of the right size what ever it is that you need and a good proportional thermostat. Do it right the first time and it will save you money/time/problems in the long run.

Drew here is how I have my adult and my juvi racks wired and taped down

http://www.wildmorphs.com/uploads/Morphs/rackwire.JPG

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

and a good proportional thermostat. Do it right the first time and it will save you money/time/problems in the long run.

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I couldn't agree more. For several years I used an el-cheapo ZooMed 500R thermostat. While it did it's job ok, temps would vary up to several degrees and I always was a little worried in the back of my head. I got a Herpstat a few years back and it's been the best money I've spent on my collection. In retrospect I wish I would have just bit the bullet from the get go and bought a high quality t-stat right off the bat.

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Originally Posted by blueapplepaste

I couldn't agree more. For several years I used an el-cheapo ZooMed 500R thermostat. While it did it's job ok, temps would vary up to several degrees and I always was a little worried in the back of my head. I got a Herpstat a few years back and it's been the best money I've spent on my collection. In retrospect I wish I would have just bit the bullet from the get go and bought a high quality t-stat right off the bat.

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I wouldn't be with out mine I sleep better knowing my animals are controlled by helix

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

I wouldn't be with out mine I sleep better knowing my animals are controlled by helix

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Totally agree. Dimmers, retrostats, etc all work but I trust my helix too! Sleep without worries is worth my $$$$$

come to think of it, a light dimmer would work if i hooked it up to the flexwatt then just put them probe on the flexxwat and turned the dimmer till i got the right heat lol. I wont do that I'm getting ranco but I'll make one just for a back up..

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Originally Posted by Hotshot

come to think of it, a light dimmer would work if i hooked it up to the flexwatt then just put them probe on the flexxwat and turned the dimmer till i got the right heat lol. I wont do that I'm getting ranco but I'll make one just for a back up..

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Two of my racks are rigged up with dimmers and they work fine. The only problem is that the night drop is my hand.

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Originally Posted by PythonWallace

Two of my racks are rigged up with dimmers and they work fine. The only problem is that the night drop is my hand.

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i dont understand that.... and we talking about the lil round thing that you turn left or right an gives more light right?

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Originally Posted by Hotshot

i dont understand that.... and we talking about the lil round thing that you turn left or right an gives more light right?

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Yep. $9 at HD spliced in line to a regular 6' extension cord makes a great rheostat. The only time I ever had a problem with one was when I was adding a strip of flexwatt for a new snake coming out of QT, and I forgot the rack was plugged in. I grabbed both exposed wires and must have overloaded the dimmer on myself and fried it. I keep a few extra pre-wired dimmers around, so I just switched it out.

i got 2 snakes i'll have 3 or 4 by next year so it will work for a while, thanks for the tips!

HotShot
I see you have your snakes listed in your sig section. You just got a pastel, do you not know what sex it is? Because you have it listed like this..................
0.0.1 Pastel
0.0.1 Norm

I think you got a male right? If so you want to list it like this.
1.0 Pastel

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Originally Posted by Halfdawg

HotShot
I see you have your snakes listed in your sig section. You just got a pastel, do you not know what sex it is? Because you have it listed like this..................
0.0.1 Pastel
0.0.1 Norm

I think you got a male right? If so you want to list it like this.
1.0 Pastel

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half dog *I was told it was a male* but I also was told by the same guy that my norm is a female. when I took my snakes to my friend *who is a breeder* to check there grams and for RI he said my female is a male. long story short I'm taking them both to the vet tomorrow, to get probed. cuz I did have them like this pastel 1.0.0
norm 0.1.0 now I dont know :( I pray for a pair!