AP T-10 Setup Questions

[The Night King]

The sticky AP Cages thread convinced me to order a PVC cage from AP. Such great info in the thread. My T-10 arrives Tuesday and I had some basic questions.

It'll be for my 500g (or very close to it) Piebald BP.


Here is what I have:

AP T-10
Sliding glass doors w/ cage lock
10mm routed groove for LED strip
LED RGBW light strip w/ remote $19.99 at Amazon
88w RHP from ProProducts
***No FLEXWATT OR HEAT TAPE being used***


I will get a Herpstat but not sure if a 1 or 2. I really do not see us adding a second snake anytime soon so I'm not super sure I need the Herpstat 2 and the price difference is a fair amount ($55).


A few basic questions:

• I will need to run some black silicone caulk around lower joints - 3 correct (2 sides and back)? Is this strictly to prevent liquids from escaping or will it also help with humidity? I had big time humidity issues in my exo terra and I'm trying to avoid having a daily maintenance schedule of misting, adding moss, etc. if possible. It was one of my primary reasons of going to the PVC cage. Wondering is caulking up the sides and top seams will help also with humidity?

• Water bowl placement: I'm getting a big corner water bowl - does it need to be on the RHP side or opposite? In my current tank it sits in the middle with UTH on hot side and CHE on cool side. Temps are well regulated and house stays at 70 year round.

• Accurite thermometer: Will this be setup the same as on my exo terra? I currently have the probe INSIDE the tank sitting on glass with substrate (Eco Earth) on top about 1/4" deep. I'll likely add a little more substrate to the new setup with no UTH. Do I still need to put my Accurite probe all the way underneath the substrate against PVC enclosure floor?

• The LED rope light strip has adhesive backing but should I put a tiny bit of the same black silicone up in the groove to help hold it in place?

I also plan to build his hides and backdrop using styrofoam, colored grout and mod podge. A YT'er named lizard landscapes has a lot of videos on making landscapes using styrofoam, mainly for lizards I guess but I have seem a couple environments on Pinterest for snakes using his techniques. Hopefully it will work out and my little fat belly will not crush when it lays all over it like he is Al Bundy.


Thanks for any feedback!

TNK