quick question about heating?

[jesst]

I have 4 animal plastics T10 cages for some of my snakes. 3 of them i use the zoo med heat rope and it keeps things nice and warm and one i am using heating pads. I was just wondering how many heating pads i need to be using. he has 2 that cover almost have of his cage but they keep things really warm. they are the 8x18 size heating pads Also i use aspen for my substrate should i be using something else like paper towels or reptile carpet so the heat can get threw better?

[shadowsnakes]

I am surprised no one else replied to this yet. Firstly you need a thermostat to regulate the heating pads. They easily get over 110*F and they can burn your animals. A handheld laser thermometer gun can be useful for spot checking the pads and making sure the thermostat has accurate readings.

Aspen bedding is fine as are newspaper sheets, box liners, ground coconut husks... the list is very long. Again, a temp gun can help determine if enough heat is getting through your substrate.

My UTH covers about 1/3 of each bin and the snakes are quite comfortable. As long as there is enough room for both a hot and cold side where your snake can comfortably rest then you are fine.

[The Serpent Merchant]

I have 4 animal plastics T10 cages for some of my snakes. 3 of them i use the zoo med heat rope and it keeps things nice and warm and one i am using heating pads. I was just wondering how many heating pads i need to be using. he has 2 that cover almost have of his cage but they keep things really warm. they are the 8x18 size heating pads Also i use aspen for my substrate should i be using something else like paper towels or reptile carpet so the heat can get threw better?

Heat pads really aren't the way to go with big AP cages, heat tape is a much more cost effective method. On 4' x 2' Ap cages I run a single strip of 12" THG Heat tape longways across the cage.

http://www.reptilebasics.com/heat-tape

[jesst]

how much heat tape do you use? i dont have any experience with it

[The Serpent Merchant]

how much heat tape do you use? i dont have any experience with it

4' per cage.