Leos and JCP moving into PVC cages! Do's/Don'ts on setup+heat+deco?

[Jessicat]

I suggest that you get this thermometer fromn walmart, it costs $12 and is usually by the lightbulbs



I recommend Herpstat thermostats.

http://spyderrobotics.com/

if you re on a tight budget, the hydrofarm is ok, but should be replace with a better thermostat when possible

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR.../dp/B000NZZG3S

They don't need UVB, but it won't bother them. my cages just have regular Fluorescent tubes in them.

for the Carpet, I would use a radiant heat panel, they work really well especially for snakes that like to stay up off the floor of the cage.

Here is a good place to get them: (also a good place to get flexwatt (heat tape) )

http://www.reptilebasics.com/rbi-radiant-heat-panels

As for perches for the carpet, you have 2 options. I built this for my carpet, it is made from 1/2" diameter PVC pipes and fittings. took all of 10 minutes to make and costed under $20



Or you could build a mount into the side of your cage like so:



You can see that they used a "v" shaped piece of plastic with a notch to support a horizontal rod (made of Delrin but PVC pipe would also work)

Those thermometers look good, I'll have to remember to take a look for those at the Walmart near my house :3

Oh geeze, those Herpstats; each one only monitors one temp in one cage, right? x.x NOW I remember why I never got into snakes when I was an unemployed student in school LOL. I can probably afford it but having 5 of those hanging around [one for each reptile] just seems cumbersome ._. Those work by increasing/decreasing power to the heat tape right? As opposed to the on/off ones [or are there other types besides those two?]
I'll have to ask my dad if he knows any good alternatives, I know a couple years ago when he renovated one of our bathrooms he put heat tape under the tiles [dunno if this is the same or different than heat tape than can be used in enclosures?] and has it hooked up to a thermostat...I can never figure out how to work the darn thing though ^^; It's neat because that one shows a little "heat wave" icon on the bottom of the thermostat screen when the heat's on, and how much power is on currently by the number of icons on the screen.

It looks like you built your JCP a jungle gym, that's pretty neat XD I wasn't sure if having a big pipe [mine isn't fully grown so I'm not sure how much wider he'll get] with an opening in it on the side would be possible, then it could be a perch and an [elevated] hiding spot, since if I'd have the heat coming from above it wouldn't matter how many hides are all down on the bottom level.
And speaking of heat, I'm clueless on wattages for the heat tape and heat panel too ^^;

Weird that snakes don't need the extra attention to vitamin D that some lizards do, but I'm not complaining. Fluorescent lights work too, just need to figure out how to install them in the cage, at least without my JCP being able to poke at it [I'm not too big of a DIY person, heh ^^;]

Could probably use closet rod brackets too.

Those'd work too, thanks!