A few questions on heat tape and tubs

[lusciousdragon]

So I don't plan on having many snakes. Not enough to have a whole rack worth. I was just wondering what size of tubs I need for a full grown BP? Can I just leave the lids on the tubs, drill holes in the sides, and then just sit them on a shelving unit? I have some of the plastic shelves with the plastic tubes kind of shelves.
Also wondering how I use the heat tape. I really know nothing about it and looking at all of the various posts I still don't quite understand it. So it comes in rolls and you use aluminum tape to attach it to a shelf. Then there are clips and cords and then it all attaches into a thing that monitors the heat? Where do I buy the heat tape and all of the supplies to make sure I have everything. And how about the thing that monitors the heat? I am not good with electrical stuff. So should I attach the tape to the tubs? Or to the plastic shelves? Or attach it to another board and then lay that on the shelves? Does it get so hot that it can melt plastic or make it release fumes?
Thanks in advance!

[anatess]

You can definitely use plastic containers with lids. The underbed storage size is good for an adult bp.

Personally, I prefer the Really Useful Box (RUB) available in Staples. It is very well built, strong, with escape-proof lids that you can put a lock in. It is more expensive than sterilites and personally, I find it better if you're not using a rack system.

If you use a RUB, you can get the 33 liter size (underbed storage) or the 50 liter size (same floor space but is 8" tall instead of 5") that will be good for an adult bp. You drill a few holes onto the sides of the RUB for ventilation.

http://www.reallyusefulproducts.co.u...boxdetails.php

Now, for heat... you don't need to get a heat tape. You can just use the regular heat mat - a plug-and-play kind of deal. You would want a heat mat for a 20-30L size and tape that to the bottom of the RUB (outside) towards the back to cover 1/3 of the box floor. Heat tapes are cheaper, of course, but you'll have to wire it yourself. For heat tape, you can run 2 4"-wide heat tape under each plastic bin. The heat tape comes in rolls that you can cut at every 1-foot section. Other people cut it somewhere other than the manufacture-marked "cut here" line but if you get the 33/50liter RUB, you shouldn't have to risk it.

The disadvantage to having heat taped directly to the box is that you will have as many plugs as there are heat mats which will have to go to a thermostat (more on thermostat later). There's a wiring option for heat tape that eliminates the need for a lot of plugs but it requires some assembly know-how (it's really easy, by the way, if you use the clips and insulators available for heat tape, even for non-electrical types). If you research flex watt heat tape, you should be able to find different wiring options to connect separate pieces of flex watt together to have only 1 plug.

Okay now, you have another option if you can put each RUB side-by-side on a shelf that makes it much easier to wire. You can run a roll of heat tape taped to the shelf under the boxes. So, if you have 5 RUBs side by side, you can get 2 5-foot sections of 4" heat tape, tape it to the shelves and all you have for wiring are 2 plugs for all 5 boxes.


Anyway, bigappleherps has a video on how to connect a plug to a piece of heat tape here:
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Flex-Watt-Heat-Tape
They don't sell the 4" heat tape. They only have 3". Reptilebasics.com carry the 4" one.

Now, the heat tape can get to 120F. That will burn your snake well before it burns your plastic box or shelving unit. So, it is very important to get a thermostat to control the heat output.

There's a lot of options for thermostats from the el cheapo and not-very-reliable Reptitherm to the expensive super-reliable Helix.

How the thermostat works is - you plug your heat tape to the thermostat and plug the thermostat to the wall. The thermostat comes with a probe that you will stick onto the heat tape/mat. You adjust the thermostat to set it to the heat output that you desire and it should shut off anything plugged to the thermostat if it gets higher than the desired output or turn it on if it gets lower than the desired output. Yes, some thermostats like the Helix doesn't turn things on or off, it just limits the power going to anything plugged to it much like a dimmer, but the end result is about the same.

Okay, I think this should get you started pretty good.

[lusciousdragon]

Thanks so much for the info! I really appreciate it. I think I actually understand it all now. I'll get started on measuring, shopping, and figuring all of this out. Yay so happy!

[catawhat75]

LOL, they are like potato chips, you can't stop at one! I hope she is being good for you.

[lusciousdragon]

LOL, they are like potato chips, you can't stop at one! I hope she is being good for you.

Yeah they are like potato chips. She is being very good for me. I am quite fond of her. I am seeing her personality now. She LOVES her terra cotta pot hidey. She ate those 2 mice last week and now I know where to get the small rats for this weekend. I've held her a few times this week and my 12 year old son has held her too. The 6 year old son has pet her but is afraid to hold her still. My husband hasn't touched her ha ha.
The moon glow heat lamp is just not keeping things warm enough, unless it is right over her head. The other end of the tank won't get warm. I am sure it is because it is a screen top, I put foil over it too. So I thought I'd put together some of that heat tape stuff and some tubs. They seem to be better for humidity and temperature. I have some nice plastic shelving upstairs in my craft room, so I thought I'd make a row of tubs in there. Maybe get a few different kinds of balls. Of course Aura would have a special place in my heart though . I'm really happy with her. She is my first snake that didn't actually belong to my exhusband.

[anatess]

Yeah they are like potato chips. She is being very good for me. I am quite fond of her. I am seeing her personality now. She LOVES her terra cotta pot hidey. She ate those 2 mice last week and now I know where to get the small rats for this weekend. I've held her a few times this week and my 12 year old son has held her too. The 6 year old son has pet her but is afraid to hold her still. My husband hasn't touched her ha ha.
The moon glow heat lamp is just not keeping things warm enough, unless it is right over her head. The other end of the tank won't get warm. I am sure it is because it is a screen top, I put foil over it too. So I thought I'd put together some of that heat tape stuff and some tubs. They seem to be better for humidity and temperature. I have some nice plastic shelving upstairs in my craft room, so I thought I'd make a row of tubs in there. Maybe get a few different kinds of balls. Of course Aura would have a special place in my heart though . I'm really happy with her. She is my first snake that didn't actually belong to my exhusband.

The moon glow actually doesn't provide much heat - it is intended for a "night drop". They have that red bulb that provides heat that you can keep on 24-hours. It's a humidity-killer though.

I have a now-6-year-old who was only 4 when we got our snake at just under 300 grams. He wears the snake like a bracelet while watching TV. The snake is a lot bigger now - over 1600 grams, so he wraps her around his belly under his shirt while watching TV. That always bugged me - I mean, she could probably crush his ribs if she really wants to. My husband, of course, thinks it's just fine as long as my son always has a hand on her tail.

So, yeah, I don't know which situation is better - your 6-year-old or my 6-year-old!

[gunner91]

i see this thread is pretty old, but gonna try and ask anyways. what if you got an 11" wide 1 foot section http://www.amazon.com/Flex-Watt-Heat...upplies_text_z
would that work under a tub for an adult ball python?

[The Golem]

i see this thread is pretty old, but gonna try and ask anyways. what if you got an 11" wide 1 foot section http://www.amazon.com/Flex-Watt-Heat...upplies_text_z
would that work under a tub for an adult ball python?

You need the "Frequently Bought Together" items.