retic cage plans

[sickvenom]

Originally Posted by scottyy

my dad does it to save money and partly because i am in a basement, but i have insulation to hold some heat in

yikes. in that case, heating from the outside of your cage may not be efficient. you might have to install the flexwatt inside the cage and put vinyl flooring over it. how tall is your cage?

[scottyy]

Originally Posted by sickvenom

yikes. in that case, heating from the outside of your cage may not be efficient. you might have to install the flexwatt inside the cage and put vinyl flooring over it. how tall is your cage?

its not that tall its a plastic bin, but i just got a job so i may be able to buy her a 4ft x 2ft cage next month.

[sickvenom]

Originally Posted by scottyy

its not that tall its a plastic bin, but i just got a job so i may be able to buy her a 4ft x 2ft cage next month.

since you have a retic, it might not be a bad idea to buy a larger cage now, if you can afford. however, you will still be battling the extremely low room temperature in your basement.

if you keep your existing cage, you will want to replace your 2 strips of flexwatt with a 24" piece of the 11" wide tape, and run that down one side. that would provide much more heat than the 2 strips you have now. if you buy a new cage and you still plan on using flexwatt, just remember to cover approximately 1/3 of the bottom of your cage.

[scottyy]

Originally Posted by sickvenom

since you have a retic, it might not be a bad idea to buy a larger cage now, if you can afford. however, you will still be battling the extremely low room temperature in your basement.

if you keep your existing cage, you will want to replace your 2 strips of flexwatt with a 24" piece of the 11" wide tape, and run that down one side. that would provide much more heat than the 2 strips you have now. if you buy a new cage and you still plan on using flexwatt, just remember to cover approximately 1/3 of the bottom of your cage.

well i am about to get her a 50 gallon (or at least i think its the size of it). Its made just for reptiles so it has sliding glass doors on it and the dimensions are 4Lx2Hx2W. i was looking at it last month at my local reptile expo (technically exotic animal expo but wat ever) and its like $150 and it looks really nice. and i think i am gonna make a nice looking sort of naturalistic setting in there. Some coconut husk substrate and some nice logs and rocks to help aid her shedding. There goes my first paycheck, but at least she will like her new home. and i can use the tank for another snake sometime down the road.

[maitre]

Your retic is gonna outgrow a 4x2x2 in no time. Save yourself the $150 and invest in something larger or stick to tubs (try christmas tree tubs if you can find them in your area). You're going to want wider strips of heat tape as well. Try to create an area where your retic can curl and still be evenly heated.

Glass tanks really aren't ideal for holding in heat or humidity - especially if your ambient temps are ~60F. Plastic/pvc is much more effective at holding in heat. What you can also try is insulating the tub/tank itself. You can buy sheets of styrofoam from Home Depot and construct a styrofoam box in which your enclosure sits - I do this in the winters and it really helps to hold in heat.

[scottyy]

Originally Posted by maitre

Your retic is gonna outgrow a 4x2x2 in no time. Save yourself the $150 and invest in something larger or stick to tubs (try christmas tree tubs if you can find them in your area). You're going to want wider strips of heat tape as well. Try to create an area where your retic can curl and still be evenly heated.

Glass tanks really aren't ideal for holding in heat or humidity - especially if your ambient temps are ~60F. Plastic/pvc is much more effective at holding in heat. What you can also try is insulating the tub/tank itself. You can buy sheets of styrofoam from Home Depot and construct a styrofoam box in which your enclosure sits - I do this in the winters and it really helps to hold in heat.

putting towels over top would help heat and humidity. and she hasnt quite outgrown the tub she is in now so that one would last for about 8 months maybe and then i will have her big cage