Cage building question...

I am going to be building a cage for my boas.. About 4' x 2' x 18"... maybe a little bigger. I will be building it out of Melamine.. I know, heavy, but I will have wheels, and I don't forsee me having to move it out of my basement anytime soon, and If i need to move it out of the house, it will be put together with screws, so I can take it apart. My question is... what do I use to provide heat for the snakes when they are in it? Do i heat it with Flexwat on the inside for belly heat? Melamine is kind of thick, so heating from underneath is a little hard... I am not a HUGE fan of bulbs, and use pads exclusively at the moment. What is a good option to heat a cage this size? Thanks in advance for the help...

you can use flex it works fine under melamine
Just takes alittle to heat up but once there it works great just make sure you connect it to some type os stat

Flexwatt and/or radiant heat panels is the way I would personally go.

For the flexwatt you can always drill a pegboard pattern through the bottom of the cage where the flexwatt is going to be to prevent heat build up. Then inside the cage lay the flexwatt over the pegboard pattern holes you drilled, then silicone a piece of plexi over the flexwatt. That way no urine or water spills can get at the flexwatt. That will create a nice hot spot.

You may not even need to drill pegboard pattern holes, but the manufacturer does suggest making sure there is ventilation to prevent heat build up.

Depending on the room temps, flexwatt alone may or may not heat a big cage like that all by itself. If it dont you may need to supplement the flexwatt with a radiant heat panel. Or maybe a heat panel all by itself.

Making melamine coated particle board into a cage that can be disassembled can be tricky. At 4' x 2' x 18" I would probably encourage you to just glue and screw it together as that should be able to fit into and out of most homes. A friend of mine had an old bungalo style home that was very small. We had no trouble turning cages bigger than that up on an end and getting them into his basement. And it was a very tight stairwell.

If you do want to build a knock-down cage, definately buy the highest quality melamine you can find. Do not buy the melamine foil stuff from Home Depot or similar places. A higher quality melamine from a cabinet shop will not only be MUCH more durable for a Boa but the particle board interior will be much better at holding screws.

And absolutly track down some confirmat screws and the special bit. You'll pay a premium for these but they are designed specifically to hold melamine together without glue. You should be able to assemble and take the cage apart a few times at least.

Regarding heat, I am a big fan of radiant heat panels for large cages holding bulky snakes. It is the ideal way to go. I say take the money you save by building a melamine cage and put it towards a RHP from Pro Products.

However, I'll also add my favorite way to use an under-tank heater in a large melamine cage.

What I always recommend is to cut a large rectangle out of the floor that is about 2" longer and wider than the size of the heat source that you'll be using. Keep this opening towards one end but away from the inside walls of the cage so it does not get near the screws or affect the structure of the floor.

The cover the entire inside of the floor with a piece of Sintra or another brand of expanded PVC sign board. This is the stuff that Boaphile cages are made from. It transmits heat nicely. Flexwatt or a heat pad can be taped to the underside of the PVC floor with the appropriate aluminum tape and a shallow groove can be routed for the cords.

I believe the air space formed but the cutout makes things safer. It certainly makes the cage lighter, easier to clean and more durable.

Regardless, I still think a RHP is a better way to go.

Originally Posted by Biscuit71

I am going to be building a cage for my boas.. About 4' x 2' x 18"... maybe a little bigger. I will be building it out of Melamine.. I know, heavy, but I will have wheels, and I don't forsee me having to move it out of my basement anytime soon, and If i need to move it out of the house, it will be put together with screws, so I can take it apart. My question is... what do I use to provide heat for the snakes when they are in it? Do i heat it with Flexwat on the inside for belly heat? Melamine is kind of thick, so heating from underneath is a little hard... I am not a HUGE fan of bulbs, and use pads exclusively at the moment. What is a good option to heat a cage this size? Thanks in advance for the help...