warming up nesting areas

[jhinton6932]

so, quite a few of us who may have lost females after the first few clutches know how important warm deep nesting areas are to the egg laying process.

i asked my dad a couple questions of what would be the best way to warm the nesting areas and he suggested something used for aquariums like a heat cord. someone else also suggested the idea in a PM so this is what im going with.

Hydor Hydrokable 25W Cable Heater w/ approved thermostat

http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r537/jhinton6932/heatcord_zpsfbefae81.jpghttp://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r537/jhinton6932/heatcord3_zps0ba81133.jpg

ill keep it updated with pics of the installation when i get it in the mail on tuesday

[crocdoc]

This is what I use. It's a heat cord that's been placed onto a PVC sheet in a zig-zag pattern, held down with cable ties and then the whole lot sealed in epoxy with woven glass fibre (the sort used to make fibreglass). Although I could have used polyester (the normal resin used for fibreglass) rather than epoxy, I just happened to have been out of polyester, had spare epoxy resin and didn't have enough time to allow polyester to off-gas properly, anyway. In the upper left corner you can see the thermostat probe and thermometer probe held down with cable ties.
http://www.pbase.com/crocdoc/image/141480810.jpg

All three cables (heat cable, thermostat cord and thermometer cord) are protected by a conduit, which can be seen going from the nest box to the outside of the enclosure in this shot:
http://www.pbase.com/crocdoc/image/146792295.jpg

And on the outside of the enclosure it looks something like this (I say 'something like this' because I've recently rewired everything and put a new conduit in place, so this is an outdated shot):
http://www.pbase.com/crocdoc/image/115427022.jpg

[jhinton6932]

i suppose i went the more expensive route, but i tried every plumbing and roofing specialty store here in florida, but not one of them had heat cords available in the store since nothing really ever freezes down here -_- i have pvc sheet and tile lying all over the shop so ill be making use of that. im going to attempt to replicate (at much cheaper cost) how we install heated tiles under rich folks floors up north

by the way, you have the prettiest enclosure ive seen in a private collection for the larger varanids

[crocdoc]

i suppose i went the more expensive route, but i tried every plumbing and roofing specialty store here in florida, but not one of them had heat cords available in the store since nothing really ever freezes down here
The heat cord I used was purchased from a reptile supply place, but there's nothing wrong with expensive. Yours will probably last longer!

by the way, you have the prettiest enclosure ive seen in a private collection for the larger varanids
Thanks!

[jhinton6932]

well, i neglected to take photos of the actualt heat pad i made but its basically a piece of tile set on the bottom of the enclosure,heat chord zig-zag pattern sandwiched between tile and thin FRP, sealed with an epoxy. the thermostat probe and heat chord are both fed through a conduit and out of the enclosure while the probe to the in/out thermometer sits deep down in the dirt above the heatpad. this is a practice run seeing as how these guys shouldnt be nesting for another 6 months or so, but it will be good for these winter months as well.
its been warming up for 4 hours or so in this pic. my house is cold right now. fml when the electric bill comes -_-
http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r537/jhinton6932/temp001_zpsfcab2a40.jpg

[philipniceguy]

This is what I use. It's a heat cord that's been placed onto a PVC sheet in a zig-zag pattern, held down with cable ties and then the whole lot sealed in epoxy with woven glass fibre (the sort used to make fibreglass). Although I could have used polyester (the normal resin used for fibreglass) rather than epoxy, I just happened to have been out of polyester, had spare epoxy resin and didn't have enough time to allow polyester to off-gas properly, anyway. In the upper left corner you can see the thermostat probe and thermometer probe held down with cable ties.
http://www.pbase.com/crocdoc/image/141480810.jpg

All three cables (heat cable, thermostat cord and thermometer cord) are protected by a conduit, which can be seen going from the nest box to the outside of the enclosure in this shot:
http://www.pbase.com/crocdoc/image/146792295.jpg

And on the outside of the enclosure it looks something like this (I say 'something like this' because I've recently rewired everything and put a new conduit in place, so this is an outdated shot):
http://www.pbase.com/crocdoc/image/115427022.jpg

great design and clearly works. I have a question is the heated cable "thing" fixed to the roof area of the nest box? or......?

[infernalis]

He has help from Unicorns.

[jhinton6932]

floor..heat rises. would do no good above the dirt/soil/sand whatever

[crocdoc]

Yes, jhinton is correct. It's at the bottom of the nest box, under the substrate.

[Gatorhunter1231]

I started to use a Kane mats. They are a bit pricey but would probably work as well. It's heat tape/cord stuffed into a hard shell strong enough for a pig to walk/lay on.

[jaleely]

Sweet, guys! Couple of years when i start breeding i'll need all this info. Might as well read it now and maybe i'll retain some of it *lol* Nice set-ups