Heating PVC cages

Spirit_Scale · 02-02-13, 11:31 PM

Hi all,

I just set up a 4x2x1 high PVC cage (made by Powerhouse Displays Inc.) for my male BP.
It looks awesome and he loves it *EXCEPT* I cannot get the stupid thing to warm up. It holds humidity awesome (which was an issue in his previous tub seeing as I had to rig up a heat lamp to get the ambient air temps right) but its cold. Normally I set his warm side to about 90-95 (with thermostat) and aim for a cool/ambient temp of 80. Ambient air temps nonwithstanding (I'll be setting up a space heater with thermostat in the room) the UTH I'm using just does NOT penetrate the material enough. Even with only a single layer of paper towel the heat is not adequate at all--maybe hitting 75 on top of the paper towel.

What I'd really like to do is set up some ceramic tiles to cover the floorspace but am wondering how I'd achieve belly heat with that since the UTH (and its the biggest one zoo med makes) is struggling to begin with.

So the question is---could I rig some heat cable etc on the inside floor of the cage (hooked up to a thermostat of course) and then place ceramic tiles on top of that?
If not what would you guys recommend?

For now I'm putting him back in the tub but ideally would like to fix this.

Lankyrob · 02-03-13, 07:18 AM

Personallywith a pvc cage i would use a radiant heat panel

KORBIN5895 · 02-03-13, 07:23 AM

Why are you interested in ceramic tiles?

Also Rob is right. I would purchase a rhp and use that for he heat source.

Spirit_Scale · 02-03-13, 09:45 AM

I don't use loose substrate to avoid issues (holdover from my leo keeping days I guess) plus with the risk of mites, scale rot, the mess and all that crap I can't be bothered. I even had one of my females get substrate in her shed as it came off and the dirt ended up getting in her eyes and causing problems.

Which of course leaves me with paper towels, newspaper etc and I'd like something that's a little more permanent and looks better. My BP doesn't get good traction on the naked PVC.

All right, noob question inbound---but I've heard differing things about the RHP's---some say they heat ambiently, some say they heat only the surfaces and don't do much with air temps, so whats the truth?
Also, what size would you guys recommend (keeping in mind I live in Canada and in the winter it can be drafty/nippy--like 60F is a warm room in this house if the space heater isn't on)? I assume mounted from the ceiling and hope it comes with a guide to do so so I don't wreck his PVC cage.

KORBIN5895 · 02-03-13, 09:59 AM

Tiles wouldn't be a very good choice. Also there is no risk of mites or scale rot because of substrate. Mites come from dealing with infected snakes and scale rot comes from poor husbandry.

I personally use cocohusk and have never had an issue even when ingested. If you want something else I would recommend vinyl.

A rhp will heat the air and the floor surface. All it takes to mount them are two bolts. Pre drill the ceiling of your PVC cage and run the bolts through. That's it.

As for wattage a 40 or 60 watt should do the trick.

Spirit_Scale · 02-03-13, 10:20 AM

So looks like it'll be vinyl stick-on tiles then.

What I meant vis-a-vis the substrate is its harder to keep 100% clean unless you change everything out the moment they poop/pee which and when wet it can cause problems and be breeding ground for bacteria.
I already had to treat him for the beginnings of scale rot (someone I thought was responsible was watching him for me while I was away

) and so I'm a bit paranoid and like to keep him clean and keep the substrate dry, keeping it humid but not damp in any way.

I'll have to do some price shopping and saving for the RHP's though. Yikes. The only reason I wanted to try the heat cable/another method was because I'd like to keep more snakes in the future. I'm not cheap mind you and everybody is well cared for and vetted, but at the same time being economical is important being a student n all.

Lankyrob · 02-03-13, 11:22 AM

I use reptibark substrate, its really easy to spot clean, just use a small trowel to scoop out the poo/pee and all surrounding substrate and thrwo in another handful to fill the gap thats is left.

Terranaut · 02-03-13, 11:38 AM

Like this one.
Cocco substrate. Heat mat on hydrafarm thermostat.
Easy to heat. It's no health threat to have substrate. You should have something in there.

cossiecraig · 02-03-13, 11:51 AM

I too have a 4x2x1 and on the left side, underneath i have flexwatt heat tape run by a thermostat ,also in this pic you'll see a RHP at the top of the enclosure also run by a thermostat ( seperate thermostat ) .....to gain the temps in this size enclosure you'll need a RHP ,if i recall i paid a $125 for mine and it's running like a dream ,little bit of play needed at the start for locating the sensor for the RHP ,once established you'll be impressed i'm sure ,great ambient temps too !!

KORBIN5895 · 02-03-13, 02:05 PM

Where are you located? I have some used rhp I am selling 60 watts for $50 but I'm in nb.

As for the bedding I only change mine every 6 months and I have never had an issue with any bacterial growth or scale rot.

As for the sticky vinyl tiles I think you would be happier with rolled vinyl flooring. If you don't use anything to absorb pee you will hate your life when it does.