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New PVC Cage!

NH93

NH93

New member
I brought home and set up my new PVC cage today! It is a split 48"x24"x18", with hinged and locking Plexiglas doors. It is raised with 5 hockey pucks atop a black table from Ikea. The thermometer and hygrometer you see in the back of the photo are more for show, and only give a range (I have two probed thermometers for the UTH/thermostats and a handheld thermometer I trust more so).
It's difficult to see, but there is an LED light (the tape-style) in both sides, which can actually change colour on the entire rainbow spectrum. Also from Ikea.

The cage, LED lights, and table all together cost me $315 (tank at $240).

I am very pleased to have both my bedrooms back, and have the snakes out in the open - facing the living room - for everyone to see :)

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On the left side is Sydney's vive (just an updated photo of her)
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On the right side is Beau's vive (an updated photo of him, sitting nicely on top of his shed!)
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Nanci, it is from PVC Cages (don't know if it's just Canadian or not). http://pvccages.com/

I'm actually having a little trouble with it though. Just as I suspected, the ball python's side is not quite warm enough. It hovers around 76-77F, which is too low for him (should be up around 80F).
I removed the hockey pucks and put them on the little round plastic feet. I added a piece of tin foil below Beau's side (the BP) to reflect any remaining heat from the UTH into his enclosure. So far there hasn't really been any change.

I don't want to add in a mesh screen top, as that defeats the purpose of me getting this nice new cage! :p
But, any ideas would be greatly appreciated. How should I add heat to his side only?

I a unable to crank the temperature in my home - not that I'd like to anyways, but it is baseboard heating, with minimal control by tenants. It never gets below 74F, nor above 77F.

I had thought about putting a heat bulb above the cage, but a thinking that may only heat the PVC on the outside...

I have read about radiant heat panels, but they are controversial it seems. I have read that many people believe them to be no different than UTHs. I'd really like to not spend more money on an RHP and another thermostat, which will cost me $100-$150, and find that it doesn't help.

AHH! :(
 
I have two 24 x 24 plastic cages which are heated with Ultratherm UTHs. I used the heavy duty aluminum tape to secure them. They've been like that since 2007 or so- just fine. That is an EXCELLENT brand of UTH. The Bean Farm sells it, for one place.

So you could buy two and run them separately, but that would require either two thermostats or a herpstat 2 which has two separate settings.

I _just_ heard of a ZooMed thermostat malfunction which unfortunately caused at least one death. I stopped using that brand years ago, and would not recommend it to anyone.
 
So it looks like you already have two separate UTHs and thermostats...What brands are they?

Are there recesses in the ceiling of the cage for lighting?
 
Thanks for the questions/suggestions Nanci.
the cage is flat-bottomed, and so is the top (so no light recessions), but I have put up LEDs. I am not wanting to make any other changes to the cage that will alter how it looks or works; I feel as though putting in a mesh top, for example, would totally defeat the purpose of me getting this new cage.

My thermostats are just the Jumpstart Hydrofarm thermostats, as there is no pet store or the like near me where I have been able to find reptile thermostats (so the ZooMed risk is of no concern :) ).

I had some other suggestions brought to me. I have lowered the area underneath the tank and instead of hockey pucks I am now using the plastic feet (6 of them, instead of 4) and a layer of tin foil beneath the UTH - which is stuck to the vive with foil tape.

Someone has suggested I surround the back/side with some kind of insulation. What do you think of that?
 
I've heard of insulating the enclosure, but the most common answer I seem to hear is.. Get a RHP (Radiant Heat Panel) and affix it to the side that's AWAY from the cornsnake. It would require another thermostat as well. And then there's the huge debate where to put the probe....
 
Ya... thank you for the suggestion! I'm going to get a large UTH I think and just have it covering most of the BP's side and a small portion of the corn's, and turn the thermostat to the corn's hot temp. The BP will still have his hot spot too.

RHPs are too expensive, and sound controversial.
 
NH93 said:
I have read about radiant heat panels, but they are controversial it seems.
Click to expand...

I can scarcely think of a safer way to heat. What is the controversy? They can't even burn your hand.
 
Chip said:
I can scarcely think of a safer way to heat. What is the controversy? They can't even burn your hand.
Click to expand...

I have been reading up on them in other forums as well, and it seems that they work much like a UTH in that they radiate heat in the same way.
Several people have said they get as hot as an unregulated UTH as well, which doesn't fly with me.

The thing about it for me, is I am not going to spend upwards of $100 on a heat panel - that, honestly, looks like crap and works like a UTH - and another $50-odd on yet another thermostat. I don't have that kind of money after buying this new cage.

Because there is a lot of backlash against them, as there is for them, I am uncomfortable buying something like this. If it were a more accepted means of heating I'd be more for it.
I am going to try other methods first to see if they work. I want my BP to be happy and healthy, but if I can do so for less money... well, I am going to. He doesn't know the difference, except that one day it's cooler and (hopefully) the next it'll be warmer.

:)
 
If "backlash" means expensive, then I agree. But they are the safest method of heating currently out there. Here's a nice review on one and how they work: http://arbreptiles.com/products/rbi_heatpanels.shtml

Unless using Freedom Breeder racks, I wouldn't run any heat source unregulated.
 
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The RHP heat air and surfaces much more effectively than a UTH would.

Of note: My tubs for my BP have an ambient temp of ~75-77F. Doesn't seem to bother them at all, really. They still roam around, feed and shed without difficulties. I keep my apartment around those temps. If my place stayed in the 60's, or even low 70's, then I'd consider getting a RHP for my tubs. Looking at the two thermometers in my room right now, my room is 73F, with my one BP's tub cool side reading 75.7. The UTH on the warm side raises the ambient temp ~2F above room temp, giving a hotspot of 90F directly in the middle of the UTH. In the winter, I keep my place ~73-75F, in the summer, 78F. Now, if I lacked the UTH all together and had no hotspot, I'm sure the tub would be room temp, and my snake would have an RI. However, since he's got access to the heat, it has thus been prevented.

From what I've read from other folks that live here in AZ, some don't do any other additional heating besides heat tape for a basking area. Although ambient temps are held ~75F. They just let the house naturally warm/cool through the seasons.
 
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