Cage set up

[kitedemon]

The big this is measuring the air temp. This should not be influenced by any heat source. RHPs emit IR radiation, this is how they heat exactly the same way as the sun does. The issue is taking air temps with out reading the heat waves from the RHP. Often these must be blocked as Skeletor mentioned. You can just set up something temporally take the reading and then return it to the way it was.

A UTH and RHP is over kill generally they are both radiant heat sources and both heat basically the same way. If you need to increase the air temps you could either add lighting (fluorescent light tubes add a fair bit of ambient temps and LED fixtures add more than you might expect.) The other method is much like the sun, add something dark matte and heavy to the enclosure. The RHP will heat this up (disproportionally than white, glossy, and light) much like a black chair in the sun. This can be used to slightly adjust the ambient air temps if needed.

[Skeletor]

Kitedemon. I want to look into adding a light to my cage. Do you have a brand, a pic, bulb info, color, controller ? How it's mounted etc. Also, do the lights burn off humidity and can you control them with a VE-200 ? So many questions. I like the idea of having a light. I do not like heat tape on my cage. I don't care for taping stuff on, the foil tape peels off in a week and the heat tape falls off. I like solid mounted hardware. My cage has a long LED light clipped in it but I only use it to clean the cage.

[Morris Reese]

Kitedemon. I want to look into adding a light to my cage. Do you have a brand, a pic, bulb info, color, controller ? How it's mounted etc. Also, do the lights burn off humidity and can you control them with a VE-200 ? So many questions. I like the idea of having a light. I do not like heat tape on my cage. I don't care for taping stuff on, the foil tape peels off in a week and the heat tape falls off. I like solid mounted hardware. My cage has a long LED light clipped in it but I only use it to clean the cage.

I use LED lighting in my snake enclosure. It puts off no heat and doesn't soak up humidity. I get them from Lowes for about $40. It comes with 3' of LED light string and a remote. It has a rainbow of color of which I only use white and red. Very easy to install!!

[kitedemon]

I just use a shielded FL for day time and a blue 'tube' led for night.

FL fixture... http://www.rona.ca/en/18-in-fluorescent-fixture

Something like this for led.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/18-30-42-57-6...item2ecf0d7e53

I just use screws to mount it just like any other application.

Yes they do change the Relative Humidity. (relative to temperature if the air temps change it MUST change) They increase the air temp and because of that they change the saturation point (increasing it) and that means you need less RH% to get a good shed. Any heat source that heats air will change the RH.

No you cannot regulate it with a proportional stat it flickers and goes foolish. The range of ambient air temp is dramatic (74ºF-86ºF easily some say wider that this) you don't really need a stat to hit inside a 10ºF spread. I just use a timer, I change it 3 or 4 times a year as the room temps changes with seasonal shifts.