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Quasi DIY Question

E

Elsa

New member
Hi All,

I have a old (ten years or so) Boaphile 422D (I think) it originally house my tortoise. Now that we have Chara our Pewter who is nicely growing I want to move him into this cage- much more room for him about 4 feet long by 2 feet wide. OK now for the question- it has the original flex watt and controller- I want to put new flex watt in and change out to a more reliable controller like the Herpstat-
QUESTIONS:
1. Has any one run the flex watt across the back floor and have the cool part be the front of the enclosure?
2. Has anyone run an extra strip of flexwatt on the vertical in the back to deal with the lovely low temps in the winter- this would be on its own temp control.
3. Any recommendations for using maybe led, for nice lighting that won't hurt Chara.

My concerns are that it is a large space to keep toasty for him, plus the room it needs to go in is not the warmest....I don't want him getting chilly in the winter.


How easy is this to work with, ie the flex watt and what should I use to cover it and seal to the floor so the flex watt is not exposed? (Don't want to mess it up and set fire to Chara's house)

Thanks in advance for any input suggestions or ideas,
 
I'll jump in on the LED. I have an A19 shape (normal light bulb shape) Cree 60w equivalent 5000k with a CRI of 80. It is considered a daylight bulb though that designation is more about marketing and not a standard. I have it on a dimmer so I can fine tune the light level and on a timer for a day night cycle. It sits on the screen cover in a normal reptile dome lamp, but I replaced the incandescent reptile basking spot that came with my viv, with the LED bulb. I'm very pleased with the result. In color, the bulb gives a nice even white light which is similar to daylight on a normal, medium bright overcast day. There is no UVA or UVB so it is safe in that respect.
 
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P.S. I forgot to mention that the bulb is absolutely cool to the touch in operation. It will add no heat to the viv at all.
 
I just realized that Leominster was probably UK and you can't get Cree brand there. I've been looking for a a similar bulb in the UK and so far 5000k and dimmable seem hard to come by. Of course I can only search the UK online.
 
Hi,

Thank you for your input- actually I am Leominster MA USA- I have seen some of the different LED's advertized, since we don't need it for heat and the top of the cage is not terribly tall I am leaning this way, maybe some type of under cabinet almost flush type that can go right up top inside the cage- cage just has the front fold down type door and venting along the back which I will have to shore up since it was originally for less escape prone pet. Glad to hear that the cree is cool, I have seen them advertised but not seen it in person.
Thanks again for the suggestion!
 
Just checked it out, it looks awesome, the only thing is that " full spectrum" do they mean UVA/B light is emitted? From what I have read it is not so good for these guys, they must be something that doesn't do the UVA/UVB if using accessory lighting.
If it is safe for him I love it absolutely what I am looking for (I decorate his cage for the different seasons and holidays so changing up the lighting would be great!)
 
I believe they mean full visible spectrum, but if you have any questions contact them prepurchase. I've looked at their data sheets and see no mention of UV light.
 
I like the idea of the radiant heat, to give the general temp at the right amount and some belly heat with the flex watt. Thank you for the suggestion!
 
Everyone has their own way of doing things, and maybe they all have good points, but I have a good number of snakes and I usually do-it-myself and try to do it cheaply (as long as it's safe and meets the reptiles needs). I buy led lights on flexible strips on Amazon. They're really not expensive, and they come in dozens of densities, spectrums, and wattages. They have some encased in silicone, so they're water-proof, and use very little electricity. They need a 12V adapter, and you can buy snap-fit connectors, or you can solder connections. They are self-adhesive, and you can just run as many strips of lights as you need. No UV, so not applicable to lizards, but snakes should be ok.

For heat, I use THG tape. It's like flexwatt, but I've seen IR images that show the THG having better heat distribution. You really don't have to heat every square inch of the enclosure. Create warm spots, and let others stay cool, and the snake will choose what it wants. Mine quite often prefer it cooler. I sandwich the tape between porcelain tiles, sealing with silicone around the edges. It's water-proof, and the tiles transmit the heat nicely. Thermostat/rheostat is a must to prevent overheating, but if you have a chilly spot, and the snake chooses it, then that's ok. Corns aren't like certain tropical boas and pythons that suffer from a temperature drop. I let my breeding adults go into the lower 50's for months in the winter (just don't feed during that time) and it does no harm. (It supposedly encourages breeding.) I end up heating and lighting both for just a few watts per cage.
 
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