Where do you place heat panels (or mats)??

I am going to be getting cages from BoaMaster and was wondering where I would place the radiant heat panels or if I buy the Ultratherm heat mats from The Bean Farm where should I put them? Should I put them on the inside ceiling of the cage? Or under the bedding on the floor of the cage? The Bean Farm person I talked to today told me she'd never heard of anyone putting in on the ceiling and told me to put it under the bedding. Sounds a little weird. BoaMaster puts the radiant heat panels on the inside ceiling. What does anyone else do, that way I can see what I should do. Thanks! And comments would be great!

All radiant heat panels that I know of would go in one end of the cage to make one hotspot in the cage. As far as the heat pads from Ultratherm I don't know. I just ordered baby racks from mark and they are coming with 3 Inch heat tape. I do not have any of his regular cages. But with the cages being made of melamine and furniture grade plywood. I would not think you could use a heat pad under it. There is also one other thing you need to think about where you are, how cold will it get in the winter in your reptile room? Personally I would go with the heat panels. they maybe a lil more but overall health of your animals would be worth the extra expense Just my 2 cents worth

Heat panels are mounted inside the cage on the ceiling, heat pads in a melamine cage would be placed under the bedding inside the cage.
Heat pads don't work on the ceiling and heat panels can't be mounted on the floor. Not much to be discussed about it, that's how they are designed to be used.

The radiant heat panels can also be mounted vertically inside of the enclosure on a side or back wall.

So for instance the Ultratherm Heat Mats that The Bean Farm sells, I'd place them under the bedding? Should I tape them to the floor of the cage though? If so, should I use that aluminum tape to hold the mats in place?

If the snakes end up going to the bathroom and gets on the mats, wouldnt that cause a problem? If the snakes get under the bedding and lay on the mats wouldnt that cause a problem? The whole idea of putting heat mats under the bedding sounds weird. I know heat mats go under cages but with wood cages they dont accomplish anything if place outside the cage. So it being on the inside under the bedding seems odd.

Would radiant heat panels be a better option? I dont want to rule out the Ultratherm Heat Mats though just because it seems odd to me. Whats your opinion? Thanks.

I don't know anything at all about Ultratherm mats. Here's an email I got yesterday from Jeff @ Helix Controls. He seems to know a thing or 2 about reptile heating. He was outlining heating options for a 2 level melamine enclosure I have. It's kinda long but maybe this info can help you..

"Hello, I tend to like heating cages 18" or taller with both heat from above and below (belly) Belly alone is insufficent to heat a volume of space and above only seldom can reach the floor. It depends some on the animal also.

Arborial snakes tend to stay on perches so heat from above only may be fine as they would thermo-regulate vertically if more than one perch heighth is provided. Ground dwellers, especially Boas like belly heat and some large boa breeders use 6' cages, in a stack of 3-4 cages. Each has a section of heat tape in the middle controlled to 90-92 degrees and each has a heat panel or ceramic at the hot end to help provide air temperature gradient, they also only have air vents on the cool side. Probe for the Ceramic is a few inches to the side and below the ceramic or closely influenced by the heat panel.



Shorter plastic cages in a stack can be heated well with heat tape only under and between each cage. Probe is located directly on the heat tape between the cages half way down the stack.



Melamine is so dense that it is hard to heat through, It ends up cracking and blistering the inner surface after a time.



To add belly heat for a Melamine cage is a pain, I have a suggestion:



Obtain a piece of 1/8" Polycarbonite (Lexan) the same size as your cage floor, First locate where you want your belly heat located, ( best if the edge with the cord is against a back wall. Drill a hole from the outside 1/2 way through the floor and back wall to lay the cord into, and you may want to drill another that will allow the controller's temperature probe to be added and changed, incase in the future you want separate control of the floor temperature. It will need to be run further underneath the heat tape and another one or two spaced under the heat tape location. Obtain some fiberglass cloth, cut to the size of the heat tape, lay it down first. Then Lay down the heat tape, route the cord out the back or end of the cage, so the heat tape will lay flat, (almost flat) Obtain some aquarium silicone ( best) or other caulking and apply a few dots around the heat tape and across the floor. PLUG IN THE HEAT TAPE, This will start the heat tape warming. Place the Polycarbonite down and when the heat tape is good and warm it will cause the expansion of the material. ( best to use a low wattage heat tape that tops out at about 100 degrees at max power, I prefer 22" 17 watts per foot, otherwise separate direct control of the belly heat will be necessary).

11" 20 watt per foot will get very hot at 100% power os if you choose that keep an eye on the temperature while sealing the floor around the edges, all that is needed is the floor to be at approx operating temperature while the silicone dries to prevent a bubble when it is expanding in use. This will waterproof your floor, becouse melamine is not completely waterproof.


We have 4 sizes of heat panels, the main advantages are they are very long lasting ( lifetime element) totally sealed, non-porius surface great with high humidity locations, can be bleached, sprayed and are limited to a safe surface temperature even at full power thay will not burn you or your animal. I would think either the small 11" x 16" 53 watt panel mounted sideways on one end. Or the Medium ( might be too much) 109 watt 11" x 30 " heat panel. 53 watts above at 35 watts below would be a good bet. and would likely be the best set up. Probe influenced by the panel few inches below going in from the side or back, as the panel warms the probe and air Temperature the control will cut back the power to floor and panel. If both the cages are identical, one controller could easily do both cages and 2 more like them....

Talk soon, Jeff "

Thanks for the copy of the email! It did explain a lot! I am still not sure if I'm going to go with Radiant Heat Panels or the Ultratherm Heat Mats BUT I dont think it's really necessary to use heat panels AND belly heat. That (IMO) sounds a little too much. I'm sure Jeff is a lot more experienced than me (obviously), but I think the radiant heat panels (inside on ceiling) is more than enough. The 53 watt radiant panels sound fine in 4 foot cages by themselves. I dont think you really have to have the belly heat also. I have all my snakes in aquariums and they have only heat lamps (which is obviously above them just like a heat panel would be). No belly heat at all for any of them, even in the winter and they are fine. Whats nice to is that the radiant heat panels are fine for the arboreal snakes too, even if they touch the panel they wont get burned. The panels seem to sound great for terrestrial AND arboreal snakes without any problems.

For a 4 ft long, 2 ft wide and 16 in tall cage what size panel should I get? And what wattage?

For a 3 ft long, 2 ft wide, and 19 in tall cage what size panel should I get?
And what wattage?

Thanks!

Yeah, for 4 foot cages I'd think a panel alone would be sufficient. My house is old and drafty with a poor heating system so the idea of using belly and a panel might have been geared more toward my specific application as well as larger enclosures. Glad you found it useful.

Thanks again! By the way, what wattage do you think I'd need? Do you think 50-60 watts would be good for 4 foot and 3 foot cages? The 4 foots are 16in high on the inside and the 3 foots are 19in high on the inside.