Building New Cages...Need Help With Lighting..

[Bellabob]

I'm going to use ultratherm heat pads from reptilebasics but thats not going to be enough to produce the temps I need. I want to use those tube light bulbs and put it inside the cage with a guard around it. I want it to produce light and a little bit of heat. All these exo terra and zoo med bulbs seem to get so fricking hot its unbelievable. But can these be connected to a rehostat to control the heat output?

I have a couple of other questions too. This cage is going to be one big solid cage. Sorta like a book shelf to house snakes. There is going to be 5 cage areas, one on top of another, with sliding glass doors. Each cage is going to be 1 foot tall by 3-4 feet long by 15 inches wide. As you can see each cage is going to be pretty large but I'm going to fill it with plants, rock hides (more than 2) logs, rocks, etc so they won't get stressed.

What I'm worried about is my BP (who recently escaped, but I found her). It seems to me that cal kings and corns seem to have the same temperature and humidity requirements. So I'm not worried about them. But the BP needs higher temps than they do and higher humidity. So I'm worried that with one cage on top of another the heat is going to effect the other cages and throw off the temps in all the cages. I want the temps to be PERFECT.

Also, my house during spring and summer usually stays around 70-77 degrees and not usually higher than this. Will the outside temp in the house effect the temp inside the caging?

I'm so confused about this, I would love some help please.

Thanks.

Oh, yea, I want th lighting to be timed too. But every timer I see doesn't seem like it can be hooked up to turn off all the lights in each cage all at the same time. They are just for induvidual cages. Is there any timers that can be used for ALL the cages?

[takagari]

Well to be honest. I could answer your questions but you have an extremely basic knowledge of electrical and should not be doing anything that involves wiring alone. You really need to do more research or find someone to help in person.

Those tube lights you refer to require a ballast, can not normally be dimmed, and produce almost 0 heat, so if you expect to get any heat from those your going to be SOL.

If your making a larger enclosure I would use radian heat panels over anything else. a heat pad is only good for maybe under glass or a thin plastic tub. Not much else.

You'll need a larger timer, but you don't use a timer to run each light, you use a specific timer to run up to a certain amount of wattage,

You need to do more research, because you have basicly asked someone to walk you through the entire process of heating and lighting a cage, plenty of tutorials online. more than you could ever read.

Once you have a fair knowledge of what your doing, feel free to ask and I will do my best to help.

[kitedemon]

I agree that Fluorescent light toss a fair heat I measured mine at 125º off the tube. The problem is very very few are actually dim-able with a rheostat it just won't work. They do make an ok supplemental heat and although hot it isn't scary hot a momentary contact will do no harm as long as they cannot contact it for any length of time. I have 3 inside enclosures and have never had a problem I am very careful to make SURE the snake cannot touch one other than just reaching the body up, I don't use them inside in a 12 inch tall enclosure.

It is good advise if you need to do wiring to get help lots of bad things can go wrong quickly if not done well.

[Raf702]

I'm going to use ultratherm heat pads from reptilebasics but thats not going to be enough to produce the temps I need. I want to use those tube light bulbs and put it inside the cage with a guard around it. I want it to produce light and a little bit of heat. All these exo terra and zoo med bulbs seem to get so fricking hot its unbelievable. But can these be connected to a rehostat to control the heat output?

You COULD use a UVB bulb lighting. But it doesn't emit a significant amount of heat. Also, UVB is highly disregarded, since BP's are nocturnal. And having such a bright light in your enclosure will stress out your BP. But if you really want to add a light fixture, then that's up to you. Just make sure the light fixture is secured or covered properly to avoid your snake from getting to it. And getting burned or any other potential injuries. Or you can always add a fluorescent ceiling light in your room. That should be adequate lighting for you to view your snakes. Or did you want a lighting in each enclosure?

Natural lighting from your window or just a room light is more than enough for your BP. I've heard that UVB can benefit the snake in aiding with metabolizing food/etc. But I haven't read or seen any proven evidence of it. And MANY BP owner's still don't use UVB's or any type of bright lights in their BP enclosure. Such as myself, I don't use any lighting except a red infrared heat lamp. And my window or room light is enough lighting. Yes you can use a Rheostat, light dimmer, non-proportional, proportional t-stats. To control temps from either a UTH or Heat lamp. Light dimmer's can be easily found at Home Depot/Lowes/online/etc.


I have a couple of other questions too. This cage is going to be one big solid cage. Sorta like a book shelf to house snakes. There is going to be 5 cage areas, one on top of another, with sliding glass doors. Each cage is going to be 1 foot tall by 3-4 feet long by 15 inches wide. As you can see each cage is going to be pretty large but I'm going to fill it with plants, rock hides (more than 2) logs, rocks, etc so they won't get stressed.

Seems like large enclosures, depending on how big your BP's are. Setup sounds good though. What materials are you using for the enclosures? Obtain the essentials first then move along to decorative items. Heat source, thermometers, hygrometer, 2 hides, water dish, substrate, etc.

What I'm worried about is my BP (who recently escaped, but I found her). It seems to me that cal kings and corns seem to have the same temperature and humidity requirements. So I'm not worried about them. But the BP needs higher temps than they do and higher humidity. So I'm worried that with one cage on top of another the heat is going to effect the other cages and throw off the temps in all the cages. I want the temps to be PERFECT.

I'm not to familiar with regulating temps on a rack. Since multiple racks could affect stable temps. You could always setup your BP enclosure separately and utilize it's own T-stat and heat setup. Or just have the BP have it's own heat setup. Since your other snakes are currently on a specific husbandry setup.

Also, my house during spring and summer usually stays around 70-77 degrees and not usually higher than this. Will the outside temp in the house effect the temp inside the caging?

It sure does, just make sure to monitor your temps. And if the temps drop lower then the appropriate temps. You can simply add a small heater in your room. And that will help maintain a higher ambient temp in your room.


I'm so confused about this, I would love some help please.

Thanks.

Oh, yea, I want th lighting to be timed too. But every timer I see doesn't seem like it can be hooked up to turn off all the lights in each cage all at the same time. They are just for induvidual cages. Is there any timers that can be used for ALL the cages?

I think Zoo-Med makes a 24/7 digital timer which you can control multiple sources. And have it set at a time where you want the lights to turn off/on. I think it's like $25-30, I can't remember.

Good luck!