wooden enclosure

[rx7eaven]

Hi there everyone.

I have a wooden enclosure with slidilng glass doors, the wood is 3/4" thick. It is currently being heated by a red-light and the thermal gradient is 92-94 - warm side, 82-84 - cool side. But i am having trouble keeping humidity up above 50% and have decided to use uth instead, as this seems to be a beter heat source and doesnt dry out the enclosure too much.

Will a heat pad actually work through wood 3/4" thick?

Can anyone recomend brands of heating pad and thermostat which work well with wood? (im the other side of the pond in the uk, so any companies that ship would be helpful as there doesnt seem to be as many products available over here.)

Is it a good idea to switch to a full spectrum light giving a twelve hour cycle on an seperate thermostat working along side the uth (which will be running constantly)? As the room my python is in has varying light cycles.

Thanks for all your help guys and gurls.

[Amy05]

i dont know if it will go through wood like that, but i really dont think so. it doesnt get THAT hot.
To keep the humidity up, did you put his water bowl on the hot side? I know that helps my snakes out a lot. I always do that when they are in shed.

[mxrider42]

You could alsoo stick the UtH to a piece of glass then lay it on the floor and silicone it down. Also, in my cage I have flexwatt on the floor that is covered by vinyl flooring. I would also recommend a thermostat.

[Amy05]

You could alsoo stick the UtH to a piece of glass then lay it on the floor and silicone it down. Also, in my cage I have flexwatt on the floor that is covered by vinyl flooring. I would also recommend a thermostat.

thats what i was thinking. put a UTH or flexwatt on the wood itself, then cover it with glass or plexiglass or something of the sort.

[tmlowe5704]

i use an exo terra on a dimmer turned halfway up(or down, but hey I'm an optimist) and it stays around 90 and that is with 1/2" thick wood. use a good UTH(such as flexwatt or exo terra) and I think 92* is possible

[West Coast Jungle]

thats what i was thinking. put a UTH or flexwatt on the wood itself, then cover it with glass or plexiglass or something of the sort.

Flexwatt needs to have a gap underneath to ventilate. You shouldn't pin it inbetween two surfaces with no gap. It can overheat and possibly catch fire. One side of the heat tape must have at least 1/2" of air. If you are gonna put it on a piece of glass it will need feet to lift it off the floor a little. I would be real paranoid though of having the wiring in the enclosure. Sounds like a potential electricution/fire problem. Tubs are always the best for BP's.

[Amy05]

Flexwatt needs to have a gap underneath to ventilate. You shouldn't pin it inbetween two surfaces with no gap. It can overheat and possibly catch fire. One side of the heat tape must have at least 1/2" of air. If you are gonna put it on a piece of glass it will need feet to lift it off the floor a little. I would be real paranoid though of having the wiring in the enclosure. Sounds like a potential electricution/fire problem. Tubs are always the best for BP's.

glad you said that! i have never used it, so i dont know, but i wouldn't want to be responsible for somebody's eclosure catching fire!

[rx7eaven]

thanks for your help guys, helps alot. I didnt think of putting plexiglass or glass inside the enclosure. Sounds like a goodidea though. Il try and come up with some sort of false floor that locks in. hmmm?

Il let you guys now if i come up witha good solutiuon.

[rx7eaven]

The water bowl is on the warm side put il try putting it more directly under heat.

[TheDude]

Have you tryed going to ceramic heat emitters? They dont dry the air as much as lights.