Can I have your heating and substrate opinions?

My first question is concerning my heat source, which I will explain my setup to help everyone get a grasp of what I am dealing with. The room my snakes are in is normally heated to 78 degrees, although this winter its been difficult to keep it there, so I would say its averaging 72 degrees. I have a 4 stack of custom wooden cages, 3/4'' thick with plexiglass doors, each cage is 48'' x 24'' x 12''. My heat is supplied by heat panels controlled by a Helix DBS-1000, set at 96 degrees. This setting for the most part had been giving me a floor temp of 92-94 degrees on my hot side, with it fluctuating a degree or two. Lately, it has been everything my panels can do to keep the hot side at 84-88 degrees with the same 96 temp setting. So, with the lower room temp being where my problem is starting, would it be beneficial to add flex watt into the flooring of each of these cages, attached to a second thermostat? Or should I focus more on adding additional heat into my room?

Now for question #2. I have decided that Kraft paper is the way I want to go for my substrate, the only thing I can't decide on is the thickness to go with and if I should get smooth or indented paper. I should say that I do plan on putting a little bit of aspen bedding on top, just to help with humidity and such. Here are the links to my source for paper. I am looking at the 30'' wide roll and the weight of each given roll determines the thickness.

http://www.uline.com/BL_1961/Indented-Kraft-Paper

http://www.uline.com/BL_1951/Kraft-Paper-Rolls

Doesn't sound like there is a temp issue
IMO,88*f is pretty well optimal for most
all the constrictors

Originally Posted by Metachrosis

Doesn't sound like there is a temp issue
IMO,88*f is pretty well optimal for most
all the constrictors

I would have to agree that 88 is OK, but that is the best I am getting in these colder outside temps. It's not consistently there. I should of also mentioned that I am also dealing with gravid/ovulating females, which is why I mentioned my temp being preferred at 92-94 on the hot side.

maybe add an oil filled heater or some other way to bring up the ambient temps. My warm sides don't get to 90, they seem fine with the high 80s as Tommy said. Go with indented kraft. I'm using singleface corrugated instead of kraft, I didn't like the sharp edges on kraft wrap.

I have an oil filled, radiator style heater in the room now. I gotta be careful with how hot it gets because it just sucks the moisture out of the air. It's pretty much at 90% as of now, which the manufacture does not recommend going above that.

About the Kraft paper April, what weight (thickness) were you using that you didn't like?

I never used it, we sell it where I work and I wasn't happy about the sharp edges, same with dunnage which is basically unprinted news paper but newspaper has blunted/softer edges. We can't get the indented kraft unless I ordered half a truckload so I went for the singleface.

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

I never used it, we sell it where I work and I wasn't happy about the sharp edges, same with dunnage which is basically unprinted news paper but newspaper has blunted/softer edges. We can't get the indented kraft unless I ordered half a truckload so I went for the singleface.

I tried the single sided stuff, looked like a piece of thin card board cut in half right? I didn't like it very much. Once it got soiled it was a mess cleaning up, especially if a water bowl got tumped over. This is what I used.
http://www.uline.com/BL_1902/Corruga...s=paper%20roll

Originally Posted by mxracer4life

I tried the single sided stuff, looked like a piece of thin card board cut in half right? I didn't like it very much. Once it got soiled it was a mess cleaning up, especially if a water bowl got tumped over. This is what I used.
http://www.uline.com/BL_1902/Corruga...s=paper%20roll

that is singleface corrugated.
I hate uline (they are our major competition, so I have bias)

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

that is singleface corrugated.
I hate uline (they are our major competition, so I have bias)

Sorry April. Send me a link to the stuff you use. I know we talked about this a long time ago, I just felt the need to make a thread to get others opinions. Not many people chiming in.

Getting back to the heating problem, I realize my temps aren't that bad right now, but its just now getting cold here, it will get much colder, that is what worries me. Bigger room heater or add flex watt? What would you do?