Need suggestions on heating set-up (please)

[Joesine is me!]

Hi everyone,

I am a new member but have been reading posts for months. (There is a lot of great info here and all of you do a great job!)
I have 8 BP's and all are in plastic tubs. At this time I am using a wire shelf rack as my snake rack. (I know I need to do better but it is what it is at this time.) I got them (for other reasons) at Target. Anyway, the tubs have the locking lid with holes on the sides. I use aspen shavings, hide and ceramic water bowls. At this time I am using heat pads and heat cable as my heating methods for the various cages. I use dimmer switches to control the temp and Zilla heat/humidity gauges. Separate dimmer for the cables/pads, but not for each unit. The room the snakes are in is kept at a constant 80-81 degrees. I also have a humidifier I turn off and on to keep the humidity around 50%.
Unfortunately I am not able to upgrade my rack at this time. I am looking for suggestions as to the best way to heat the tubs (want to use only one source) and how I can better make the rack efficient. The pads are not bad but the cable is a pain because of when I slide the tubs on and off the shelf(s).
Also, I have read various suggestions/opinions on where to put the temp probe. I have mine on top of the heat pad/cable with the tub on top of the probe. Even with the probe reading over 100 degrees, the inside tub does not get to 95 degrees at the hot spot. I use a temp gun and read the snake, the top of bedding and the bottom of the tub. I realize that reading the tub might not be accurate due to reflective surface.
When reading the snake, what is a good temp if it is on the warm end?

Anyway, I would appreciate any suggestions and thanks in advance!

Joesine

[blackcrystal22]

Hi everyone,

I am a new member but have been reading posts for months. (There is a lot of great info here and all of you do a great job!)
I have 8 BP's and all are in plastic tubs. At this time I am using a wire shelf rack as my snake rack. (I know I need to do better but it is what it is at this time.) I got them (for other reasons) at Target. Anyway, the tubs have the locking lid with holes on the sides. I use aspen shavings, hide and ceramic water bowls. At this time I am using heat pads and heat cable as my heating methods for the various cages. I use dimmer switches to control the temp and Zilla heat/humidity gauges. Separate dimmer for the cables/pads, but not for each unit. The room the snakes are in is kept at a constant 80-81 degrees. I also have a humidifier I turn off and on to keep the humidity around 50%.
Unfortunately I am not able to upgrade my rack at this time. I am looking for suggestions as to the best way to heat the tubs (want to use only one source) and how I can better make the rack efficient. The pads are not bad but the cable is a pain because of when I slide the tubs on and off the shelf(s).
Also, I have read various suggestions/opinions on where to put the temp probe. I have mine on top of the heat pad/cable with the tub on top of the probe. Even with the probe reading over 100 degrees, the inside tub does not get to 95 degrees at the hot spot. I use a temp gun and read the snake, the top of bedding and the bottom of the tub. I realize that reading the tub might not be accurate due to reflective surface.
When reading the snake, what is a good temp if it is on the warm end?

Anyway, I would appreciate any suggestions and thanks in advance!

Joesine

Fantastic job for making due with what you have!
But, for a singular heat source, I would do this.
Talk to Rich at Reptilebasics.com and get a parallel wired flexwatt group.
Get specific number of rows that you have on the shelf, and thickness. If your using 16 or 32q tubs 4" flexwatt would do great.
You need to have this hooked up to a proper thermostat. Do you have one? The probe should be directly on the heat source, so you have that correct.

Good news is that you can easily move this kind of set-up to a rack system when you eventually get one. Especially if you make it similar in size so you need the same amount of rows.
If you plan on getting more snakes, make sure to get more rows so you don't have to have more plugs! The parallel wired flexwatt will be one plug with all of the rows.

Good luck!

[Somed00d]

I wouldn't use the humidifier. Tried that didn't work well. The air outside the tub may be humid but it doesn't get inside the tub all that well. If the water bowl is placed on the heated end of the tub it should provide enough humidity. If it doesn't your holes may be too large/too many.

[Joesine is me!]

Thank you for the suggestions. I use 40 qt. tubs from Walmart because they have the locking lids.
I guess my biggest challenge right now is dealing with the wire shelves. Any suggestion as to what I can put on top of the shelves and somehow incorporate the heating? I do not like the wire and I feel I lose a lot of heat because of it. I was going to get plywood and lay on top of each shelf. But, the heat cable would still shift and roll when I slide the tubs in/out. Flexwatt and a thermostat is something in the near future. Doesn't the edges of that get turned up when you slide the tube(s) back and forth?

Thanks again

Josine

[abhorrent]

Thank you for the suggestions. I use 40 qt. tubs from Walmart because they have the locking lids.
I guess my biggest challenge right now is dealing with the wire shelves. Any suggestion as to what I can put on top of the shelves and somehow incorporate the heating? I do not like the wire and I feel I lose a lot of heat because of it. I was going to get plywood and lay on top of each shelf. But, the heat cable would still shift and roll when I slide the tubs in/out. Flexwatt and a thermostat is something in the near future. Doesn't the edges of that get turned up when you slide the tube(s) back and forth?

Thanks again

Josine

You can tape the edges down using aluminum tape without too much worry, so long as you keep a 1/4-1/2" gap between the flexwatt and the tub itself for a decent airflow.

The most efficient thing to do at this point without getting an actual rack system would probably be putting plywood down on the shelves so that the heat is re-directed into the tubs and not being dispersed in all other directions, if you're using the sort of "wire shelves" I'm thinking of. A pic of what you're using if possible would help.

[JimNAZ]

Wow what happened to this thread? I use the same racks and was hoping to see more feedback!

Anyway, I DID contact Rich at Reptile Basics and he was a great help. I am waiting for my Flexwatt to be delivered next week. I actually went with individually wired 1' pieces for each shelf. I figured that would have the best flexibility (pardon the pun) in case I redo or build another rack.
I would also like to modify my wire shelves so that I can take the lids off the tubs and just slide them in and out. I am afraid that the shelves would not adjust perfectly and there would be gaps between the shelf and the tub.

Anyway . . . I cannot decide on whether to use plywood or hardboard (peg board without the holes) to place on top of the wire shelf so that I can tape the Flexwatt to it.
Anyone work with the hardboard? Can it hold up to the Flexwatt? It is a lot cheaper than plywood. I do not need it very thick since the wire shelf is the support piece.
One last question: Any suggestions on how to mount the wood to the wire shelf?

Thanks for any help

Jim

[Argentra]

Hardboard should work fine...since you'll have the flexwatt on a thermostat it won't get hot enough to cause problems. And even if something went wacky, it would take a lot of heat to affect the hardboard.

As for attaching it, just make sure it's cut to the dimensions of each shelf (under size is better than over), and drill some holes one on either side of a cross bar section to wire/ziptie the board to the shelf.

There is nothing wrong with using that shelf unit for a rack. I have a few of the 'garage storage' plastic units that hold tubs and tanks here and they work great!
Oh, and if you find you need to 'enclose' the rack by putting sides and/or a back on it, just use coroplast corrugated plastic or hardboard. Cheap, easy to install, and still looks good.

[JimNAZ]

As for attaching it, just make sure it's cut to the dimensions of each shelf (under size is better than over), and drill some holes one on either side of a cross bar section to wire/ziptie the board to the shelf.

Duh . . . that is a pretty simple yet good idea. Thanks for all the suggestions!

Jim

[Argentra]

NP I am queen of simple, cheap building solutions. I love building and making things (which is why I also embroider, sew, and make my own rodent tubs) and I have learned over time what methods are cheapest but still effective.