Tell me why this wouldn't work

or why its a bad idea.


out side dimensional would be 4'wx4'Hx18"D

actual cage size internally would be just under 4'Wx12"Hx24"D


I would use a 3' electric radiant floor heater (red square) which would heat the void behind the cages. the heat would enter the cages via a rear vent in each cage. Vent on both right and left sides would vent the cage to the outside those creating an air flow. Each cage would have a floor made of melamine, but the actual structure would not have a floor thus allowing air to enter from beneath (designed to sit off the floor on wheels). Temp would be controlled via a rear mounted thermostat.

purpose would be to provide a cheap way for ambient temp for herps in northern climates and in places where a true reptile room is not feasible. Basking spots would be provided using flexwatt.

It does work, I built something a lot like this with a 2" gap in the back and a 10" space underneath, heated with a space heater that was controlled by a thermostat. The problem I had was that the top enclosures are the warmest while the bottom enclosure was the coolest. Make your vents adjustable and the top enclosures vents should almost be closed. Make sure all enclosures have the same amount of volume and the same amount of exit ventilation and you should be fine.

Make it modular so that the enclosures are stackable.

You can see it to the left in a crappy cell phone picture here



Oh yeah, put the input vents on the bottom of the back walls and the exit vent at the bottom of the doors so that warm air comes in, rises, sinks, and exits out the front from the back.

more info on the heater you chose to use.

vents could be the metal adjustable kind.

Originally Posted by suzuki4life

more info on the heater you chose to use.

vents could be the metal adjustable kind.

I just used an ordinary, small, 1500w ceramic space heater with a fan. Heater would pull air in from a vent at the bottom (hard to see, but behind the box of fallen screws on the floor) and blow it up the back of the unit.

Once I hooked a thermostat up so that the temps were more appropriate, it worked out ok.

so basically something like this?


http://www.shopzilla.com/ceramic-150.../743516326/buy

Yep, something just like that.

The entire set up is not very efficent and you have to really manage the air flow in order to keep the temps proper, but if you use the heater for ambient only and use basking lights for hot spots, you should be ok.

I should also note that I did not use the thermostat on the heater itself, I used an external thermostat with a probe in the middle enclosure.

What would you recommend that is more efficient in your mind?

in reality an external duct is a point of loss. A more efficient way would be to use "gravity fed" heating like in older homes. Merely make the vents in the flooring.....cut a vent and raise it with a duct up the wall slightly like a splash guard. If you place the thermostat in the center cage and make the vent on the top one adjustable...with some trial and error you should be able to heat them evenly.

More efficient is the good old fashioned way with some tape on the bottom of the enclosure regulated by a thermostat and a basking light for a hot spot. After using my big enclosure for a year, it's a novel idea, but I wouldn't do it the same way again.