Propper heating for Animal Plastics T25 and retic

[mike22ca]

I currently have an Animal Plastics T25 72x30x18 on order for my retic (cant wait for it to get here!). I've been trying to figure out the best heating solution. Winter time really is the only issue. My room ranges from 67-72ish. I've kept reptiles for years but have never dealt with an enclosure this large. In the past ive always used flexwatt in various size and wattages.

I think my game plan for this cage is: 3ft of 21" flexwatt 40w under one side of the cage, plus a radiant heat panel.

Im having trouble deciding between Pro Products and RBI. For the most part everyone has good things to say about both. I talked to Bob at ProProducts and he recommended a Pro Heat model PH-125, 375 BTU/h, 110 watt, 15" x 24" x 1" radiant panel, and I talked to Reptile Basics and they recommended at least the 120W if not the 160W.

Does my game plan for this cage seem to be spot on? Does anyone have and advice or recommendations on my configuration?

[IW17]

I use a rbi 120w in my 6x2x2. My room temps are around 70 and this does just fine on its own. Hot spot is around 90 and cool side is 79.

[mike22ca]

Oh really? So I should be able to get away with just the RHP alone then? Do you have it mounted more towards one side of the cage vs the other (hot spot gradual temp gradient to the cool spot)?

[IW17]

I would think so. I live in Ohio which gets considerably colder than central California. I mounted mine on the left side and put a log in the enclosure to bask on. The substrate on the hot side is 86, the log is 92, and the cool side stays 79-81. Another thing to consider with thick plastic enclosures is unless you use newspaper substrate, in my experience, the heat won't penetrate well.

[mike22ca]

Well I went ahead and ordered the RBI 160w panel. I figured it was only slightly more than the 120w so might as well roll with it. So it's on it's way to AP for install. Should I get a foot or 2 of flexwatt for hot spot? Of course these will both be controlled by a herpstat2.

[IW17]

I would wait. I doubt you'll need the heat tape. I'm using a 120w in a 24" tall cage, you just ordered a 160w for an 18" cage. I'd bet good money you won't need anything more.

[mike22ca]

Ok, will do. Thanks for the advice! I was having a hard time finding out exactly what I needed to know. I used my Google fu like a mofo but couldn't find a post that addressed my questions directly.

[IW17]

No I understand. I was in your position not long ago. Couldn't find a thing by searching online. Finally just said screw it, and took a shot. As luck would have it, I guessed right. I'm a Google junkie, but sometimes even Google let's you down.

[AZretic]

When I lived in Utah I have a 6 ft cage to a retic and used the 120 watt panel and it did awesome. Even during winter with all the snow. I just had a cage built and have another panel coming Tuesday. I love heat panels for big cages

[Sublimeballs]

You'll be perfectly fine using just the rhp. I use heat panels on all my Retics with great success. I have an old neodesha(not a slant front) that's 5'7"x 30"x 18" that I heat perfectly with an 80 watt rbi rhp.

[mike22ca]

Great thanks for all the feedback guys. I'm excited... It's getting closer to delivery time :)

[Wish]

Have you got the cage yet? About to go through the same process. Wondering how heating went for you?

[mike22ca]

Hey Wish. Not yet... I've been meaning to call just haven't got around to it. One change I've made is in getting the optional center divider installed even though I have the full sized heat panel. I won't be able to use the full size panel AND the divider at the same time. When I initially purchased the cage i was just planning on the 1 retic, well now I have 3 lol. So I might just pull the big panel out and install a smaller one in each end. I can save the large panel for when any of them are big enough to warrant the whole cage. None of them are *for now* lol.

[Wish]

Sounds good Mike! I've been researching which cage to get for the last 6 months. (Im very indecisive lol) Think I made my mind up and will be going with the T25 from A.P. also. Planning on going with a 120 watt RHP. It gets a little chilly during the winter where I'm at. Curios if I should also get a few feet of heat tape. Let me know how it all goes once everything arrives for you.

I have 1 male Retic. He's about 10 months now and growing well! Kept him in a 30 gallon glass tank since birth. He's done quite well in it. Screen top, so I taped aluminum foil around the top to keep the humidity in. This cage I order will be for him. Plan on also getting the divider so he can stay on one side till he eventually needs the whole enclosure.

[IW17]

Is your retic a mainland? If so I wouldn't bother with the divider. It'll be worthless in a short time. These guys put on size ridiculously fast.

[mike22ca]

I was thinking it would be better to have the option than not for potential future uses. Plus it buys me a little time on purchasing more caging.


Is your retic a mainland? If so I wouldn't bother with the divider. It'll be worthless in a short time. These guys put on size ridiculously fast.

[mike22ca]

Sounds good Mike! I've been researching which cage to get for the last 6 months. (Im very indecisive lol) Think I made my mind up and will be going with the T25 from A.P. also. Planning on going with a 120 watt RHP. It gets a little chilly during the winter where I'm at. Curios if I should also get a few feet of heat tape. Let me know how it all goes once everything arrives for you.

I have 1 male Retic. He's about 10 months now and growing well! Kept him in a 30 gallon glass tank since birth. He's done quite well in it. Screen top, so I taped aluminum foil around the top to keep the humidity in. This cage I order will be for him. Plan on also getting the divider so he can stay on one side till he eventually needs the whole enclosure.

I did a lot of research and comparisons and it seems the T25 is probably the best quality option out there for the money. I'm in Northern California and shipping is a killer for most options as they seem to be east coast based. But I basically broke it down price per square foot/options etc and the T25 was on top. Unless I could find some used cages locally (have done this in the past with good results). But I figured this way I would have exactly what I wanted.

Sounds like your setup you have now works good for you. But if you find yourself in a pinch you can always get a storage tub and some flexwatt and it will take you a long ways. Especially the iris Xmas tree storage boxes. Which would prob be without a doubt the best bang for the buck!

[Wish]

So I went ahead and spoke with Bob from Pro Heat. He recommended the Pro Heat model PH-12, 300 BTU/h, 88 watt heat panel. Again, that's for the T25 72x30x18 from Animal Plastics. Bob also told me to insulate the floor directly under the cage with some cheap home depot insulation about an inch thick.

I see you guys discussing about both 120 watt and 140 watt panels. Which is what I was looking into myself before I emailed Bob the other day. How you guys feel about the 88 watt heating the 6 foot cage sufficiently? From what I read, people really stand by Pro Heat products, they love them! Bob was a pleasure to deal with and gave a lot of info about the product. He took a lot of info from me, to assign the right panel. I mean, I'm pretty sold on this and plan on making the official purchase tomorrow. Just want to hear any one else's thoughts.

[Nightflight99]

You really can't go wrong with their products. I've used them in the past, and they've never disappointed. Also, Bob really knows his products, so I'd feel comfortable following his recommendation.

[theskyturnsgrey]

Can you explain what you mean regarding the newspaper? I will be keeping my brazilian rainbow in a t8 with newspaper substrate using a radiant heat panel so any info i can get will be appreciated!

I would think so. I live in Ohio which gets considerably colder than central California. I mounted mine on the left side and put a log in the enclosure to bask on. The substrate on the hot side is 86, the log is 92, and the cool side stays 79-81. Another thing to consider with thick plastic enclosures is unless you use newspaper substrate, in my experience, the heat won't penetrate well.

[IW17]

I meant that if you use a Uth or heat tape, it will be difficult for heat to penetrate through thick substrate. I've tried it with cypress and literally had no hot spot. Aspen is OK as long as the snake burrows. I've had some that never would and it was only marginally warmer than the ambient temps.

[Wish]

So I ordered my T25 from A.P.---10 week manufacture wait! Wow! Still ordered it, just to get the ball rolling. I was told to have the radiant heat panel from Pro Heat mailed directly to them. They'll put it on at no cost. Unfortunately, my shipping quote was out of this world. 300$! Looking into a cheaper way if possible.

Anyone use any other LED lighting in their cages? Did not order the light from A.P. Hoping to find a multi-color lighting system of some sort hooked up to it. Any suggestions?

[mike22ca]

Yup. That's pretty much the standard wait from them. I'm *supposed* to get a call this week for delivery of mine. I got the LED option in white installed in mine. Dang, $300!?!?!? Where in the hell do you live!? Lol. I'm in Northern California and I thought mine was bad at $200.

[IW17]

I've got five t8's and two t12's coming and my shipping will be $180 via freight to northeast ohio

[Wish]

Yup. That's pretty much the standard wait from them. I'm *supposed* to get a call this week for delivery of mine. I got the LED option in white installed in mine. Dang, $300!?!?!? Where in the hell do you live!? Lol. I'm in Northern California and I thought mine was bad at $200.


Yea, I'm not complaining. I just hope it's really 10 weeks and not more. Their customer service has been exceptional in the 1 week I've been speaking with them. Definitely pleased about that! I went and added the blue LED lights through them yesterday. 50$ installed.

I'm in NYC. I actually deal with freight companies at my current job. Trucks hate coming into NYC cause of the traffic! It's always expensive to get something through freight out here. I am going to check with my freight carrier for a better shipping quote. Otherwise, I got to swallow that 300$ and charge it to the game! lol

[mike22ca]

My T25 finally arrived! It came on a giant pallet. I gave everything a good once over and signed off on the delivery. It came incredibly well packed, i was very impressed. Gave the directions a quick ready over once or twice and went at it. Everything went together extremely well and probably only took me like 30 mins by myself. I sealed the whole cage with the supplied goop and let that sit for a couple days to cure. Played with the heat panel for a bit (I had the biggest one RBI makes installed), works great. I plugged it straight in to power no thermostat just to see what kinda heat it would kick out. Does a pretty damn good job. I got the surface of it to about 200 maybe slightly over. You can still touch it although for not that long. Being that my cage is 18" high I was able to kick out 100+ degrees to the cage floor according to my temp gun. So after letting it sit for a few days and letting the floor goop cure up I finally got it ready for my snake. I researched the best placement of the probe and came across a couple different options people seemed to run. I went ahead and did the Thermostat hanging from the ceiling option. I already had a hole in the top that my power cable for the heat panel runs to so I just ran my prob through the same hole and taped it off on top (outside the cage) so it stays in the same area. Seems to work real well. I set my herpstat2 for 86 and in the warm are of the cage its about 90-92ish and the cooler side stays about 80. All in all Im pretty impressed with the setup! Its lots of room thats for sure. The only things I had issues with are 1. the center divide option - there are no screws or channels for it in the cage. Its purely a pressure fit wall. There should be additional support for the center divide if you're going to call it a center divide. 2, One of my swing down doors had a rivet that was put it half ***. However I called Ali up the next business day and let her know what was up and sent a few pics and she is sending me a replacement out asap. Def can't complain about the customer service!

[jpsteele80]

i would think up in the 90's is a little hot for a retic, i keep the hot side of my cages at 86 and they never go to that side except maybe after a meal and that's it.

[mike22ca]

Most of the warm end is about 88ish, but there are a few spots that register slightly warmer. Still kinda tinkering with it to get it exactly how i want it. This is my first experience with RHPs. Pretty impressed with it so far.

[REM955]

I've got five t8's and two t12's coming and my shipping will be $180 via freight to northeast ohio
I just happened to look and see those T8s are on sale.

[IW17]

Yup, can't beat em for $150

[jpsteele80]

Most of the warm end is about 88ish, but there are a few spots that register slightly warmer. Still kinda tinkering with it to get it exactly how i want it. This is my first experience with RHPs. Pretty impressed with it so far.

Yeah rhp's are the bomb, i wont use anything but an rhp now, except for my racks that use heat tape

[mike22ca]

For sure. I've been a flexwatt guy since the 90's. I guess just for the fact it's cheap and available and will typically do the job. But now I'm wondering why the heck I waited so long to try a panel. At the RBI panel price point it's easier to give it a go.

[Wish]

My T25 finally arrived! It came on a giant pallet. I gave everything a good once over and signed off on the delivery. It came incredibly well packed, i was very impressed. Gave the directions a quick ready over once or twice and went at it. Everything went together extremely well and probably only took me like 30 mins by myself. I sealed the whole cage with the supplied goop and let that sit for a couple days to cure. Played with the heat panel for a bit (I had the biggest one RBI makes installed), works great. I plugged it straight in to power no thermostat just to see what kinda heat it would kick out. Does a pretty damn good job. I got the surface of it to about 200 maybe slightly over. You can still touch it although for not that long. Being that my cage is 18" high I was able to kick out 100+ degrees to the cage floor according to my temp gun. So after letting it sit for a few days and letting the floor goop cure up I finally got it ready for my snake. I researched the best placement of the probe and came across a couple different options people seemed to run. I went ahead and did the Thermostat hanging from the ceiling option. I already had a hole in the top that my power cable for the heat panel runs to so I just ran my prob through the same hole and taped it off on top (outside the cage) so it stays in the same area. Seems to work real well. I set my herpstat2 for 86 and in the warm are of the cage its about 90-92ish and the cooler side stays about 80. All in all Im pretty impressed with the setup! Its lots of room thats for sure. The only things I had issues with are 1. the center divide option - there are no screws or channels for it in the cage. Its purely a pressure fit wall. There should be additional support for the center divide if you're going to call it a center divide. 2, One of my swing down doors had a rivet that was put it half ***. However I called Ali up the next business day and let her know what was up and sent a few pics and she is sending me a replacement out asap. Def can't complain about the customer service!

Happy everything worked out for you! What was the total time it took to get to you from the initial order? I ordered mine a few weeks ago. They said 10 week production wait. Just wanted to get a sense if they're pretty on time with there schedule.

[mike22ca]

My order date was 2/2/15 and I received it on 3/10/2016

[mike22ca]

Sorry I meant *12/5/2015*

My order date was 2/2/15 and I received it on 3/10/2016

[Wish]

Sorry I meant *12/5/2015*

I guess I have some time to wait as I ordered mine in the beginning of February. I managed to get quoted 200 from my own shipping company too. Instead of the original 300 from A.P. ---Post a pic when you can. Would love to see how it looks with the L.E.D'S.