How to set up a PVC cage (AP T8) With Pictures!

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Originally Posted by jevenator

Yeah, I think it's the on/off types. It's the ZooMed RepitiTemp RT-600. They're the "cheapest" I'd go with. Is an upgrade to something like a Herpstat 1 Basic worth it?

I've also seen different temp positions such as hanging it secured w/ some hot glue. The probes are pretty fat plastic ones where I'd need to drill a new hole if I wanted to run it through the wall. I wouldn't be able to pass it through the LED or RHP hole already drilled.

I've been running it for about 16 hours now.
Temps in F.

95-97 on top of rock hide
88-92 on substrate around hide and in hide
85-80 to about the middle
Then it's 75 on the opposite side near the wall I understand that the 75 if LOWEST you should really have. But then again my BP only goes out at night to explore and usually ends up coming back to her warm hide always. On my old/current setup I was able to get 90-92F belly heat 24/7 with a UTH.
83F in the air ambient.

Is this fine or should I play with a different temp probe position? It's currently set to 85F

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That's about what my enclosures run for temps when I'm not heating the whole room, which I generally have between 75* at night and 78* during the day.
I'd say that it is beyond worth it to spring for a high quality thermostat. I run Herpstats exclusively in my room, a few of the H2 Redline and one Herpstat 4 currently. They're certainly not inexpensive, but they give me peace of mind which is priceless.
I also drill holes directly through the vents to make probe placement simple and versatile when needed. I know it's hard to drill holes all over those cages though after waiting 25yrs for them.
Sounds like you're close to dialed in though.

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I know it's hard to drill holes all over those cages though after waiting 25yrs for them.

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Unrelated I know, but I'm 5 months into waiting on my T10 and this made me chuckle this morning.

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Originally Posted by Hugsplox

Unrelated I know, but I'm 5 months into waiting on my T10 and this made me chuckle this morning.

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Yeah the last cage I got from them I was quoted 10-12 weeks and it took 25 weeks. They’re great enclosures but I just can’t justify waiting that long especially when the quoted lead is now 5-6 months. It will surely take 7


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Yeah the last cage I got from them I was quoted 10-12 weeks and it took 25 weeks. They’re great enclosures but I just can’t justify waiting that long especially when the quoted lead is now 5-6 months. It will surely take 7


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Oh I know it. I ordered mine because everyone here talked so highly about them, and I'm sure it won't disappoint, but I think based on the lead times if I need another one I'll order from another vendor. As much as I appreciate people recommending AP to me I just don't know how you justify the wait times.

Other users have pointed out Covid and the high demand for their enclosures being the issue, but I've said before, you can find forum posts from years ago about the wait times with them so this isn't a new issue.

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Originally Posted by Hugsplox

Unrelated I know, but I'm 5 months into waiting on my T10 and this made me chuckle this morning.

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More like 100 years lol. My T-10 took a little over 6 months/27-28 weeks when I was originally quoted 18-21 weeks. You might be seeing yours in a month.

The cage is great but they really need to work on delivery time and response time. They claim covid is part of the wait problem, but I was finding posts from 10 years ago complaining about the long wait times. I had to call several times and send more than 1 email before I would get a response when asking for updates. That's waiting 1 week between email and/or phone calls before sending another inquiry. They do eventually get back, aren't rude, and they delivered on their product. But from a customer standpoint, the wait time is their biggest flaw and it hasn't been addressed in at least a decade.

I have an 80 watt set at 85 F and the temp gradient goes from 85 on one side and turns into 76 on the other. The cage/RHP holds the temps steady when the house is 60 something. Snake digesting fine and bouncing from hide to hide. Happy with the end product so far.

An old but terriffic thread on T8 setup, thanks
I just received & built 3 T8s and I have one question that's been nagging me.
Can you sandwich Flexwatt heat tape between the cages without any spacing?
I see where the temp probe slots have been cut in the bottoms, so will use those, just wasn't sure
if others here that are using bottom heating with Flexwatt provide a space between the cages when stacked
or just sandwich the cages together on top of the Flexatt.
Thanks for any and all replies.
TurkE

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Originally Posted by Turkemon

An old but terriffic thread on T8 setup, thanks
I just received & built 3 T8s and I have one question that's been nagging me.
Can you sandwich Flexwatt heat tape between the cages without any spacing?
I see where the temp probe slots have been cut in the bottoms, so will use those, just wasn't sure
if others here that are using bottom heating with Flexwatt provide a space between the cages when stacked
or just sandwich the cages together on top of the Flexatt.
Thanks for any and all replies.
TurkE

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I use a ton of Flexwatt, though not the same kind of enclosures. Safe installation instructions for Flexwatt (& similar UTH) is to leave a little air gap to help prevent overheating. So personally, I'd never skip the gap, & there's different ways to accomplish that. I use Flexwatt under all my tanks & for those (which typically sit on top of a solid wood cabinet), I install rubber weather-stripping on the bottom edge of each tank (plastic molding), & then leave a little gap of .5-1.0" on opposite sides in the weather-stripping- this allows air circulation, & also leaves a gap so the weight of the tank is not sitting on the cord, which will cause damage & a safety issue in time. I'm sure you can find ppl who leave no gaps, & perhaps they seem to "get away with it" too, but personally (since the thought of a short caused by overheating that causes a house fire is not very appealing to me) I do as instructions suggest. ;) You don't need a huge gap, btw.

FYI- Flexwatt was not even designed with herpetology in mind- it was originally made for warming the roots of plants in commercial greenhouses, but we in herpetoculture "took it over" for our purposes. :D And now there are a number of "look-alike" products out there.

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Originally Posted by Trinityblood

More like 100 years lol. My T-10 took a little over 6 months/27-28 weeks when I was originally quoted 18-21 weeks. You might be seeing yours in a month.

The cage is great but they really need to work on delivery time and response time. They claim covid is part of the wait problem, but I was finding posts from 10 years ago complaining about the long wait times. I had to call several times and send more than 1 email before I would get a response when asking for updates. That's waiting 1 week between email and/or phone calls before sending another inquiry. They do eventually get back, aren't rude, and they delivered on their product. But from a customer standpoint, the wait time is their biggest flaw and it hasn't been addressed in at least a decade.

I have an 80 watt set at 85 F and the temp gradient goes from 85 on one side and turns into 76 on the other. The cage/RHP holds the temps steady when the house is 60 something. Snake digesting fine and bouncing from hide to hide. Happy with the end product so far.

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Just bought a T11 and I spoke to them. The lady I spoke with said min 6 months. Oh well, the price and quality can’t be beat.