If you were in my shoes!

[sattva]

Ok guys I am not a rich man so I have to budget my money that I can channel into this hobby... I am trying to decide which way to go... George's final cage will be made out of white melamine and cost me roughly $350.oo... Also down the road I would like to get a couple of melamine cages that are more arboreal for Moe and Fred...

I am also looking at the Herpstat 6 at Herpstat 6 (Now Available!) - $395.10 : Spyder Robotics (http://www.spyderrobotics.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=46) which might be a better place to put money at the moment...

I can see where I want to be in a few years from now but, I am not sure how fast George will grow; If he continues at his current rate of growth I am not to worried about him surprising me and out growing current cage...

So I guess my question here is, if I am feeding George {my retic} an appropriate size meal, every 7 days, could he have a growth spurt and out grow his cage in less then a year? Do they have growth spurts, or is it a slow consistent thing?

And if anybody has one of those Herpstat 6 I would love to hear what you think of it...

So if you could only save up, let's say a $100.oo a month, what would you be saving for?

[dannybgoode]

I'd get George in his adult viv and then you don't have to worry about getting caught unaware. Bear in mind a big viv like that will need an upgrade in the heating department so don't know if you've factored that into the $350.

But yes. I'd get his adult viv fully setup and then work toward the other stuff.

[EL Ziggy]

I'm inclined to agree with Danny. I'd square away the enclosure and then upgrade the accessories. I don't keep retics so I can't comment on their growth rates. I've only heard great things about Herpstats. I'm currently using individual t-stats for my vivs but I plan on transitioning to Herpstat 4s soon.

[dave himself]

Retics definitely take growth spurts Sattva ;)

[sattva]

I'd get George in his adult viv and then you don't have to worry about getting caught unaware. Bear in mind a big viv like that will need an upgrade in the heating department so don't know if you've factored that into the $350. No, your right! I hadn't factored in that... Whats everybody using for large snakes and enclosures?

Ya... Maybe I should get the enclosure first... I'm thinking you're right on that... I'm just not that happy with my current setup... Everybody in my snake room is on a rheostat, not a thermostat... Hell! I am the probes and thermostat... I am in there 10 times a day check temps with a temp gun... I keep all the rheostats on their lowest settings which gives them a hot spot of 90 or above... Then during the day everybody has at least a 60 watt light bulb which raises the hot side a few degrees... The cold sides seem to hover around 78 to 79 degrees, except last night when they dropped to 76 degrees... I have to say that most of my guys like the cold side... Sometimes I feel like I'm heating up the hot sides for nothing...
Last night it got down to 38 degrees outside, which in turned droped my snake room down to 72 degrees... Which got me thinking about having a little better control over their environment...

[sattva]

I'm inclined to agree with Danny. I'd square away the enclosure and then upgrade the accessories. I don't keep retics so I can't comment on their growth rates. I've only heard great things about Herpstats. I'm currently using individual t-stats for my vivs but I plan on transitioning to Herpstat 4s soon.
Why would you get a 4 model over the 6? Just curious...

[dave himself]

By the way mate its entirely up to you what you do first but I would agree with Danny and Ziggy, that retic being fed every 7 days and hitting a couple of growth spurts could out grow his viv pretty quick , retics can be ridiculous when it comes to growth rates sorry was typing this as others were posting :(

[riddick07]

I'm using proheat panels. It was about $400 to heat an 8ft and 5ft enclosure. I'm getting the herpstat 4 for each retic cage. Two lights and two heating elements. I wasn't sure on getting the lights since I doubt I'll use them but yeah.

I would go with the cage too. You can use ceramic elements to heat the cage. I didn't because I don't like the look of them.

[EL Ziggy]

Why would you get a 4 model over the 6? Just curious...

I've got my enclosures in 2 different rooms. If I put them all in one room they'd still be spaced far enough apart that it'll require 2 Herpstat 4s.

[dave himself]

The big viv I have for Jenny is 8x3x2 it's heated by two 250w CHE heaters running off microclimate 600 HT stat

[sattva]

Thanks guys! You've given me a lot to think about...

[dannybgoode]

Don't forget if you run ceramics you need to make sure they're guarded in some way. They get ferociously hot at the surface even when just ticking over.

[sattva]

Don't forget if you run ceramics you need to make sure they're guarded in some way. They get ferociously hot at the surface even when just ticking over.
Thanks Danny... I may have to go with them being the least expensive... We'll see how the money flows when I get down to it... but ya, wire cages I guess... I like the proheat panels that riddick was talking about but the price scares me! Thanks again...

[dave himself]

Thanks Danny... I may have to go with them being the least expensive... We'll see how the money flows when I get down to it... but ya, wire cages I guess... I like the proheat panels that riddick was talking about but the price scares me! Thanks again...

I hate to be the bringer of bad news to you mate but everyone I've seen looking for guards for CHE heaters in the states have had to ship them in for high prices for some reason. The guards themselves are not that costly it seems to be the shipping cost that's the problem, so using proheat panels could work out cheaper in the long run, just check this out before you buy the CHEs, I hope I'm wrong though

[MartinD]

Heard the same thing Dave, people started making their own

[toddnbecka]

Don't forget if you run ceramics you need to make sure they're guarded in some way. They get ferociously hot at the surface even when just ticking over.

Indeed, Becca's male BCI slipped out of his tank and apparently wrapped his tail around the CHE on top of the screen as he escaped. I found the heater on the floor and the snake hiding under the basement stairs badly burned, a couple months ago now. He's making a great recovery, most of the burned areas are nearly grown back over with scales now, remains to be seen how badly he'll be scarred in the end. He was on antibiotics for weeks, and had to be peeled in a couple spots after he shed at first, but it's been coming off in a single piece again the last couple times. His disposition was understandably testy for a while after the first couple weeks of shots and particularly debriding the burned skin. He was also treated with Silvadeen ointment while the raw skin was showing, but after he had healed up enough to stop irritating the injured areas regularly his appetite came back. A couple weeks after that he stopped hissing when someone opened his tub, and he seems to be back to his original mellow disposition now.
Only reason for the CHE was the RHP's wouldn't down into fit the aquarium. I thought it would be safe enough hanging above the screen top, never even imagined the possibility of what occured. He's been in a plastic tub with a heat mat ever since.

[sattva]

I hate to be the bringer of bad news to you mate but everyone I've seen looking for guards for CHE heaters in the states have had to ship them in for high prices for some reason. The guards themselves are not that costly it seems to be the shipping cost that's the problem, so using proheat panels could work out cheaper in the long run, just check this out before you buy the CHEs, I hope I'm wrong though
Boy you weren't kidding... There's not much out there! Maybe if I wrap this with 1/4 inch wire...
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/sgMAAOSwRQlXcx~K/s-l400.jpg

[sattva]

Indeed, Becca's male BCI slipped out of his tank and apparently wrapped his tail around the CHE on top of the screen as he escaped. I found the heater on the floor and the snake hiding under the basement stairs badly burned, a couple months ago now. He's making a great recovery, most of the burned areas are nearly grown back over with scales now, remains to be seen how badly he'll be scarred in the end. He was on antibiotics for weeks, and had to be peeled in a couple spots after he shed at first, but it's been coming off in a single piece again the last couple times. His disposition was understandably testy for a while after the first couple weeks of shots and particularly debriding the burned skin. He was also treated with Silvadeen ointment while the raw skin was showing, but after he had healed up enough to stop irritating the injured areas regularly his appetite came back. A couple weeks after that he stopped hissing when someone opened his tub, and he seems to be back to his original mellow disposition now.
Only reason for the CHE was the RHP's wouldn't down into fit the aquarium. I thought it would be safe enough hanging above the screen top, never even imagined the possibility of what occured. He's been in a plastic tub with a heat mat ever since.
Wow! That suck... Now you guys got me all paranoid! I will have to be careful... Can't I use heat tape under the cage or something? There must be a safe way without have to spend a small fortune... I mean if I have to then I have to... but $400.oo is a bit much...

[EL Ziggy]

Sattva- I think a 120w or 160w RHP would be a pretty sufficient heat source even for an 8ft enclosure. I guess you could supplement with a large UTH but I don't think it'd be necessary. Being in CA I think you could get away with a UTH or heat tape since your ambient temps don't get too bad.

RBI Radiant Heat Panels (http://www.reptilebasics.com/rbi-radiant-heat-panels)

[riddick07]

400 was for 3 heat panels. I got 2 heat panels for the 8ft and 1 for a 5ft. They were 140 for the strongest one and 115 each for the other 2. And then shipping added on. One heat panel isn't really good enough for an 8ft enclosure since it would struggle to heat it correctly. If your room stays hotter than mine you might not need as strong of a panel or even 2.

[sattva]

Sattva- I think a 120w or 160w RHP would be a pretty sufficient heat source even for an 8ft enclosure. I guess you could supplement with a large UTH but I don't think it'd be necessary. Being in CA I think you could get away with a UTH or heat tape since your ambient temps don't get too bad.

RBI Radiant Heat Panels (http://www.reptilebasics.com/rbi-radiant-heat-panels)
Thanks... This looks like the way to go!

[sattva]

400 was for 3 heat panels. I got 2 heat panels for the 8ft and 1 for a 5ft. They were 140 for the strongest one and 115 each for the other 2. And then shipping added on. One heat panel isn't really good enough for an 8ft enclosure since it would struggle to heat it correctly. If your room stays hotter than mine you might not need as strong of a panel or even 2.
This makes more sense! I thought it was $400.oo a cage... So far this year my snake room hasn't dropped below 72 degrees... That's when it was 38* outside... I don't see it ever getting below 70 degrees...