Cage heating/lighting question

[Prodigypr]

I was considering either getting a vision, neodosha(sp), or a BoaPhile Plastics cage and i was wondering how would you heat them with out the plastic melting and also lighting them or will just regular sunlight do the trick thanks for taking the time and reading this hope you all have a good day Brandon N.

[Ryan]

I dont know much about the other 2 but I know that you can use heat tape and Radiant heat pannels in the Boaphile cages. Bulbs arent good because they get to hot around the surface, that will warp the plastic. and you will be out some money :'(
Boas really dont need any lighting so regular room light will do. cwm32.gif

[surfimp]

I've had good luck so far with Sunbeam "Health at Home" human heat pads (the "King Size" model thats 12" x 24") set on medium and duct taped to the bottom of my Boaphile Plastics cage.

However, my cage is taller than normal (24" tall), and it has a shelf, so I've also got a Helix Controls radiant heat panel bolted to the top of the cage. It's the 100W Medium model (11" x 30") and it works great. You can check out the "Pics of My Boaphile Plastics Cage" thread for more details, if you're interested.

One thing I've noticed with the dual heating setup that I've got: the Helix radiant panel is much more powerful than the two human heat pads I've got underneath. Because I'm using only one Helix thermostat to control all three heat elements (the two human heat pads underneath and the radiant panel up top), it can get sort of tricky trying to get enough power to the human heat pads to warm up the lower part of my cage without making the top shelf, that's heated by the radiant panel, a total oven.

Also, the Helix radiant heat panel is designed for "always on" operation in a reptile heating environment, while the human heat pads (and Flexwatt, for that matter) are not. Everyone has to make their own risk assessments, but if I only needed one heating element in my cage, I'd go with the Helix radiant panel and skip the undertank heating all together. House fires ain't fun.

I would DEFINITELY recommend that you get a thermostat to control whatever heating element(s) you choose to use in your setup. While people have been using rheostats and similar ad hoc setups for years, the cost of a decent thermostat is not really that great, and the amount of precise control--and safety--that they offer really makes them essential equipment, in my opinion.

I recommend the Helix Controls DBS-1000 for a single cage setup, although I know that Big Apple Herp makes a thermostat that many people seem to like as well. The upside of the Helix is that it has a built-in thermometer (with the Big Apple you have to purchase a separate thermometer), and it's only about $20 more than the Big Apple. It works out to the same thing, once you purchase the separate thermometer for the Big Apple.

Either way, DEFINITELY get a thermostat. You'll be so much happier you did--the enhanced peace of mind pays for itself immediately, at least for me.

Here's some links to help you out:

http://www.helixcontrols.com

http://www.bigappleherp.com

As for caging, I looked at the Neodesha, the Vision, and the Boaphile Plastics offerings, and I ended up purchasing a Boaphile cage. They don't have any funky ridges in the bottom, are very well built, and have the best price/performance ratio, in my opinion. Just be careful not to get the plastic on any of them too hot, because plastic DOES melt/burn if pushed too far. The kinds of temperatures you need for reptiles should never get into those ranges, especially with a radiant heat panel (which directs almost all of it's heat downward) that is controlled by a thermostat, so it shouldn't be a problem.

As for lighting any of those cages, I'd just recommend using ambient light in your room, unless you have a display-type setup. In that case, you can use a flourescent light--Jeff is happy to install one for you in a Boaphile cage, if I'm not mistaken.

Hope that helps!

Steve Lange