Heating a 6ft cage

[Goldenchild45]

Ok I recently got a really good deal on a breeding setup (11 bps and 3 retics 2 6ft cages 2 3ft cages a 12 shelf rack and 2 5 shelf rack will post pics of everything so y'all can see) but the reason for this tread is to see what is the best way to heat one of these 6 ft cages I currently have 2 foot of heat tape underneath hooked to a industrial thermostat but it's not seeming to do the job I need it too do.... the thermostat is a dwyer series tsw, now iv done a little research on this therm but nowhere have a seen if I can put it on proportial or not so if someone out their just so happens to use one of these and knows how to do it please let me know but other than that the bp rack is heating fine (hooked to same thermostat) but the big cages are not... please help? Thank you in advance

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[Tigerhawk]

Hey you have a nice setup. Check out reptile basics, you should find everything you need there. They have the larger sizes of heat tape which should work for your larger cages.

[Goldenchild45]

Hey you have a nice setup. Check out reptile basics, you should find everything you need there. They have the larger sizes of heat tape which should work for your larger cages.

I mean I really shouldn't of called it just a breeding set up... I love snakes I always have and these are my going to be my babies... and the heat tape that is under it is big enough to cover a big portion enough for a hot spot it's just the guy I got them from built the rack that their sitting on and he put a gap between the heat tape and the cage he said it would melt to cage if it was direct contact but he also had the bp rack hooked to the same thermostat and when I have it set to 95 the bp rack stays awesome right at 90 hotspot and 78-80 in the from with perfect humidity.... and the retic cages just don't seem to be doing any justice and I'm afraid that when I feed them after giving them time to settle in that it will be hard for them to digest now granted I have a snake room that I try to keep pretty warm but I also would like to provide a hot belly heat for them.... thank you

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[jmcrook]

If your heat tape is properly regulated it shouldn't melt the cages. They need to be in direct contact with the bottom of the cage to create an effective hot spot. Are the rack and cages all on one thermostat channel? If there's a separate heating element for each enclosure then each one needs its own thermostat. Another option would be radiant heat panels mounted to the cage ceilings in the bigger cages.


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[Goldenchild45]

If your heat tape is properly regulated it shouldn't melt the cages. Are the rack and cages all on one thermostat channel? If there's a separate heating element for each enclosure then each one needs its own thermostat. Another option would be radiant heat panels mounted to the cage ceilings in the bigger cages.


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See I thought it would be better to separate the heat tape on different thermostats... the previous owner said that it would control both the white bp rack and the 3 retic cages... and I figured I should separate and I will now that itrs confirmed by someone else... now I do have 3 ap-t8s that all their own ve-100 hooked to a 80watt heat panel... so my next question would be if I happened to do the heat tape and if I happen to put it flush with with bottom of cage could I get a ve-300 considering their are 3 cages but the only difference is the bottom 2- 6ft cages have 2ft piece of heat tape and the top 3ft cage has a 1ft piece would all that be ok on one therm or no? Thank you

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[jmcrook]

See I thought it would be better to separate the heat tape on different thermostats... the previous owner said that it would control both the white bp rack and the 3 retic cages... and I figured I should separate and I will now that itrs confirmed by someone else... now I do have 3 ap-t8s that all their own ve-100 hooked to a 80watt heat panel... so my next question would be if I happened to do the heat tape and if I happen to put it flush with with bottom of cage could I get a ve-300 considering their are 3 cages but the only difference is the bottom 2- 6ft cages have 2ft piece of heat tape and the top 3ft cage has a 1ft piece would all that be ok on one therm or no? Thank you

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Three separate heat sources requires three thermostats or a single thermostat that has at least three control channels. I've heard great things about VE thermostats, but I personally use herpstat 2 redlines. There is the ve-300x2 that has two channels but that still leaves your third cage without its own independent control channel. If you're loyal to VE then go for a few more of whichever thermostat of theirs you prefer, or the ve-300x2 and an additional unit that can control your third cage. Hope this helps


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[Goldenchild45]

Ok iv done some looking and considering the price is almost the same what the advantages and disadvantages of ve and herpstat? Thank you

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[jmcrook]

I can't really speak for ve thermostats as I've never used them, but I like that most if not all of herpstats are pulse proportional, fail in the "off" position, and have all sorts of other great built in safety features including alarms for high and/or low temps. Also has temp drop for day and night temps built in for herpstat 1 and up. Also has the optional functionality of controlling lights, humidity, cooling, and heating all in one unit. It's all I've used aside from a jumpstart thermostat for my quarantine cage that I keep on hand as an emergency backup.
They also have units with 1, 2, 4, or 6 channels for individual heating elements.

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[Goldenchild45]

Wow ok I'll be placing a order soon herpstat seems to be the way to go with what I need... thank you very Much

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[jmcrook]

Wow ok I'll be placing a order soon herpstat seems to be the way to go with what I need... thank you very Much

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Glad I could help out! Take your time and read through the manual on the spyder robotics website to be sure it's what you want, but I can't recommend them enough. My only complaint is that they don't make the herpstat 4 and 6 in the redline model. But that's purely a cosmetic concern. Black and red are my go to colors haha. Don't hesitate to ask any other questions that come up!


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