So after reading several threads on here and combining my knowledge already for the new permanent habitat that is finished for the most part (we just have to mount the doors) I wanted to get an opinion the 4x2x2 enclosure that will house each girl (yes each has her own habitat) will be fairly cluttered with miscellaneous decorations to be removed as they grow. My home temp stays around 68 occasionally it gets up to 70 and often at night drops to the low 60's (we like it cold) we have set up the new habitats to have 2 heat lamps for ambient temp as well as a 50 watt halogen as one of them for the hot side we also are considering running heat tape over the entire bottom with a sheet of plexiglass over it connected to a thermostat set at 80 to ensure belly heat stays a minimum 78-80 the substrate is a aspen and coco husk combo 75%coco husk and 25% aspen to keep humidity up only about 1 - 1 1/2 in thick

The structure itself is constructed of solid birch 3/4in sheets and 1x2 in trim and frame support the roof is perforated mdf to allow ventilation front and doors is trimmed plexiglassthermometers and hydro meters there are three thermometers one each side with a probe mounted at the lowest possible point and one in the center mounted near the top just for ambient temps. hydro meters one on each side mounted about half way up the structure on the warm side is where the feeding box is so that the basking spot under the 50w halogen is only 14 in from the light which is maintaining a keen 91 degrees for more than 24 hours now on the hot side underneath the basking spot also is only reaching around 70 the cool side heat lamp is only heat the ambient air the floor area is also at about 70 degrees which is why we are considering the heat tape all the way across the enclosure

so with that said and as much information I can think of that will be needed for assessment let me know what you think of running the heat tape all the way across the bottom on an 80 degree thermostat

recommendations, gripes, criticisms, and overall 2 cents all welcome this will be the first habitat I have built myself and plan to build many more in the future so all input is welcome We hope to move our girls to their new homes by the end of the week after a 48 hr full set up temp check