New setup

[AMBiEN22]

Instead of a che I was thinking of just a red heat lamp? Rhino that will be efficient? Also I geuss there is a lot of controversy when it comes to how much heat this thermo uth admits. Some say they have achieved appropriate levels in a fifty degree room others say it only raises temp twenty degrees higher than the room... I feel with the appropriate thermostat and a good heat lamp in such a small tank I could possibly achieve the correct temps also going to tape the uth to the bottom... I feel it gets plenty hot just the cold air cools it and with the polystyrene bottom I added I can prevent the cold air from entering. Before this raises concern note that assuming the hundred dollar herp stat works than no melting or burning of snake will occur...

Still unsure what size heat lamp I need.

[jason221]

If you get an oil-filled heater such as this one to heat the room up to about 78-80 degrees, I think you'll have a much easier time maintaining temperatures in that tank. I can't speak to how it will affect your electric bill since I've never used one, but I've heard good things about them.

[Jeremy78]

Wowzas,

#1 to high humidity is bad. It can cause health issues with your pet.
#2 the 11" heat tape can be cut almost anywhere, call bean farm and make sure you get the good stuff after placing your order.
#3 the Che is your best bet to help with ambient. A room heater will probably send your hydro bill through the roof.
#4 take the heat pad you bought back. Is it a rainforest one? Probably only like 2-4 watts you need the desert one. Your rheostat is fine.
#5 get another hide for the cool side.


If you have problems lowrering your humidity get a smaller water bowl or more circulation through the tank. It shouldn't feel wet or moist inside all the time. This can cause problems:

[rjsone]

I'll second the kudos for working through this before bringing your snake into the environment. This is the responsible way to do it. I get so frustrated with the "I brought my snake home last month & he never even plays with his duct tape ball. What do I feed this thing?" type threads.

Also, BPs seem to stress easily and feel more secure if you black out the back and sides of glass/acrylic enclosures. I used a thin black foam (from a hobby store) secured with glue to the outside of my tank. This may help a little with your temps and will definitely give a better sense of security.

It's tough to tell, but your tank looks rather tall. Not a big deal, but as BPs are not climbers, that extra height offers more air to heat.

I also lay small plexi-glass panels ($2 from Home Depot) over my screen on top of the tank. This will help keep heat & humidity in. Covering the screen in aluminum foil is also a popular option. UTHs are necessary, but do very little for ambient air temps if your room temp is too low.

I went with a 20 gallon long tank from the beginning and just ensured that I had it filled with enough clutter for a sense of security. Identical hides on the hot & cool side are good. I struggled a great deal with my temps & humidity. I have a UTH on both the hold & cool sides controlled by separate Ranco thermostats. The big box pet store type brands are way behind in the world of thermostats. My Rancos (very similar to Johnson) are actually designed for commercial HVAC applications, but work well for many of us.

Welcome to the addiction, err I mean hobby.

[kitedemon]

Ok,

First the new 11 inch heat may NOT be cut anywhere but the CUT line.

Hosted on Fotki

Heat pads at X wattage (6 watts for example) and will be able to raise say 20 degrees over the room temperature, if your room is 60 it will only be able to raise to 80 or so unless you heat the room, I found that cost my power bill about 25$ a month when I used mine.

Test it some day when you are around just plug it in and check it every 15 or 20 min and see what a 'run-away' will produce. I actually know what each of my enclosures will cap to in the event of a failure.If you can only get to 90 it just isn't enough wattage.

Rheostats work really well in a stable environment but do not work well in a fluctuating room my snake room can drop 8-10 degrees in a day so I'd have to check a rheostat every few hours it is too much work stable room temps are needed or a thermostat the herpstat helix is a great option.

Alex

[AMBiEN22]

Wowzas,

#1 to high humidity is bad. It can cause health issues with your pet.
#3 the Che is your best bet to help with ambient. A room heater will probably send your hydro bill through the roof.
#4 take the heat pad you bought back. Is it a rainforest one? Probably only like 2-4 watts you need the desert one. Your rheostat is fine.
#5 get another hide for the cool side.

Response to #1 I've heard humidity of 100% is fine as long as their is no condensation or water basically in or on the cage making the environment way to moist. This irrelevant though as the tank has not been heated so the humidity is not moving. Over the last 4 days i think it has been now the humidity has dropped significantly to about 48% so humidity will not be an issue.

Response to #3 As a CHE could be beneficial why is everyone shying away from bulbs?! CHE will kill my humidity and i'd rather not play music humidity with my snake cage! =P

Response to #4 The UTH i have right now is 7 watts. Rheostat would be fine if my room did not fluctuate in temp.

Response to #5 Will do and i plan on getting a lot of cover!

I'll second the kudos for working through this before bringing your snake into the environment.

Also, BPs seem to stress easily and feel more secure if you black out the back and sides of glass/acrylic enclosures. I used a thin black foam (from a hobby store) secured with glue to the outside of my tank. This may help a little with your temps and will definitely give a better sense of security.

Welcome to the addiction, err I mean hobby.

Thank you! I'm a chemist so i take pride and what i do if i do not fully understand something or know what is going on i will not go through with it all till i do! I DON'T want anything blowing up in my face =P! Also in the pics i don't know if it is hard to see i have already blacked out the walls ;D. Also once i get heat all in and it does not heat up enough i will go plexi glass or tin foil method =)

Ok,

Heat pads at X wattage (6 watts for example) and will be able to raise say 20 degrees over the room temperature, if your room is 60 it will only be able to raise to 80 or so unless you heat the room,
Alex

My neighbor has a ball, and a boa i believe. He is able to achieve proper temps in his cages and exhibits good husbandry in the next couple of days i am going to go and see how he manages lol. So i know its possible in these cold months to still get the heat up at low room temps.


And i thought this thread had died thank you for the responses!

[snakesRkewl]

First the new 11 inch heat may NOT be cut anywhere but the CUT line.

Yours might not be the straight line stuff but I called the beanfarm and they tell me they only sell the straight line stuff that can be cut shorter than every 12 inches.
That's what they tell me anyways...

carry on

[Jeremy78]

Yours might not be the straight line stuff but I called the beanfarm and they tell me they only sell the straight line stuff that can be cut shorter than every 12 inches.
That's what they tell me anyways...

carry on

Thats strange? I called the beanfarm as well and they told me the straight line stuff is all they carry now?


Weird?

[Jeremy78]

Ok,

First the new 11 inch heat may NOT be cut anywhere but the CUT line.

Heat pads at X wattage (6 watts for example) and will be able to raise say 20 degrees over the room temperature, if your room is 60 it will only be able to raise to 80 or so unless you heat the room, I found that cost my power bill about 25$ a month when I used mine.

Test it some day when you are around just plug it in and check it every 15 or 20 min and see what a 'run-away' will produce. I actually know what each of my enclosures will cap to in the event of a failure.If you can only get to 90 it just isn't enough wattage.

Rheostats work really well in a stable environment but do not work well in a fluctuating room my snake room can drop 8-10 degrees in a day so I'd have to check a rheostat every few hours it is too much work stable room temps are needed or a thermostat the herpstat helix is a great option.

Alex

That is the old style of 11" heat tape.

60*F is very hard to raise the temp. I think I remember the op saying the room was 68*F.

A 10*F change is VERY extreme. Even a proportional thermostat would have a nearly impossible time controlling that.

[NewParadigms]

I got my flexwatt from Reptile Basics and it had the straight "cut anywhere" lines, this is by design according to their flexwatt guide on the site. Here's a quote of what they have written in the Flexwatt FAQ.

"The element that we sell has been specifically chosen for reptile rack and cage use and can be cut to almost any length. Some of the 11" heat tape you will encounter on the market is what is known as "panelized" and instead of the straight, black element lines it has a zig-zag pattern. The panelized element is best cut at the designated cut lines (approximately every 12"). It is for this reason we use and sell the continuous element version that can be cut virtually any length! "

Personally, I'm glad I got the straight line, as it gives much more adaptability for choosing the length of heat tape I desire.