Ambient house temps

[kelykl]

With winter here, we are struggling to maintain our ambient house temps without us getting a little too warm and toasty. We currently have 2 of the 4’x3’ show case cages for our bps. Have a rhp in one and ceramic bulb setup but it’s killing our humidity. The other one, the rhp just went out so only a ceramic bulb atm. Struggling to maintain 85 on the warm side and even then, not much of a gradient on the one without the rhp


What I’m wondering is this : has anyone ever tried / considered putting an electric blanket around their cages ? There are some nice ones on the market that have built in thermostats which can be set for a specific temp and have automatic cut offs after certain periods.
mid I could get one that could be set for 75-80 degrees and I’m controlling my rhp / ceramic bulb with a thermostat, should be plenty safe.

[Caitlin]

I'd honestly rather see you able to come up with a solution that will work in the enclosure long-term. If you have Showcase enclosures by showcasecages.com (I have a couple of their 36" enclosures), you might want to look into an 80W Deep Heat Projector (DHP) for ambient temps and to supplement the warm spot, and for the winter, use two UTH - one set up for temps on the warm end and one set up with cooler temps for the cool end of the gradient.

My DHPs aren't anywhere near as brutal on humidity as CHEs are.

I know you need something immediate, though - so while you wait for your DHPs I'd suggest starting by setting up two UTH - one for the warm side and one at 75-80F for the cool side.

[kelykl]

DHPs are almost impossible to get especially the 80w. I have 2 in order but they were out of stock so just waiting now.

I’m a little hesitant to go with any UTHs. Never used them before but have heard horror stories. Plus, I would have to buy at least 2 more thermostats to control the temp for the UTHs. Way more than I’m wanting to drop for a temporary solution. The next 2 weeks are suppose to be much warmer so I shouldn’t have any issues for awhile. Will just hope the dhp come in.

But I am curious why nobody wants to recommend an electric blanket. You recommended 2 UTHs per tank and an electric blanket seems much safer. I inadvertently posted this in another thread as well and my response there was they wouldn’t do it but with no reason why.

[GoingPostal]

DHPs are almost impossible to get especially the 80w. I have 2 in order but they were out of stock so just waiting now.

I’m a little hesitant to go with any UTHs. Never used them before but have heard horror stories. Plus, I would have to buy at least 2 more thermostats to control the temp for the UTHs. Way more than I’m wanting to drop for a temporary solution. The next 2 weeks are suppose to be much warmer so I shouldn’t have any issues for awhile. Will just hope the dhp come in.

But I am curious why nobody wants to recommend an electric blanket. You recommended 2 UTHs per tank and an electric blanket seems much safer. I inadvertently posted this in another thread as well and my response there was they wouldn’t do it but with no reason why.

Don't you have a thermostat that was controlling the RHP? You would use that to control the UTH, there's not any more risk than any other heat source when used properly, definitely much safer than running electric blankets for long periods that are not made for that purpose. Why not replace the RHP? Mine don't dry out my cages and they are great for heating cages.

[kelykl]

We have the VE 300 for both cages. They can only control one heater.
I am working on replacing the rhp. It’s a 80w one and is about a month old but blew out the plug. Trying to get it replaced under warranty but it isn’t that easy so far. And yeah the rhps don’t dry them out nearly as much but was only able to get the 40w to fit in one of the cages. It’s just not enough heating. Close but just not quite there.

An UTH works exactly like an electric blanket. They heat the same way. They are perfectly safe to wrap around a person for 10hrs but not safe to wrap around a cage for a few hours ? I think I’ve already made up my mind and will try them. I was hoping for someone to be able to point something out that maybe I missed but doesn’t look like that is going to happen. Other than they aren’t designed for it.

[Hugsplox]

An UTH works exactly like an electric blanket. They heat the same way. They are perfectly safe to wrap around a person for 10hrs but not safe to wrap around a cage for a few hours ? I think I’ve already made up my mind and will try them. I was hoping for someone to be able to point something out that maybe I missed but doesn’t look like that is going to happen. Other than they aren’t designed for it.

Using anything for something outside it's intended purpose typically voids the warranty as well as any protection you may be entitled in the event that it malfunctions and causes a fire or injury. So "it isn't designed for it" is a perfectly reasonable excuse not to do it in my book. That being said, your animal's safety is your responsibility, so if you feel comfortable doing it than that's your choice. I think Caitlin is just trying to offer a safer, longer term, solution to your issue. I use UTHs in almost all of my reptile enclosures, all controlled by thermostats, and I've never had an issue. The horror stories you typically hear, come from people plugging them directly into an outlet and just letting them run.

A quick Google search turned up this Article from May of this year that doesn't recommend sleeping with an electric blanket on all night, or for a prolonged period of time.

https://www.mattressadvisor.com/safe...nged%20period.

[Spicey]

I've got an UTH on the side of my snake's tank to keep the temps up, as well as styrofoam insulation around three sides. Since I live in the basement and don't have any control over the thermostat (which is upstairs, anyway), I had to get creative with heat sources.

[kelykl]

How thick is the pvc / plastic on your cage ? This showcase cage is fairly thick plastic so I don’t really know if an UTH on the side would help much with the temps.
Again, I’m not trying to raise the temps on the inside of my cage, I’m trying to raise the ambient temps around the cage. A space heater would be perfect BUT the whole room gets toasty. That’s the reason I was looking into an electric blanket. I could even hang it around tha cage and it never touch my cage and get results I’m looking for. Put it on a timer for an hour on / hour off at 80degrees and it should work.

[Spicey]

you could get a tiny space heater if you just want to raise the room temp without making it toasty. but if you think a blanket will work, go for it! you'll never know unless you try.