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LARGE display case (heating hints)

blackandblue_lulu

blackandblue_lulu

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How can I go about heating this large display

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I got this great offer from my local pet store since I come in all the time and look at the reptiles. There is no market for them anymore so they gave this to me, with a Cal King and Blue Tongued Skink for $100. :D Yay!

I asked about heating... NOTE: They don't want to handle the snake and really don't seem to have much reptile knowledge.... the manager says she uses a ceramic heater to distribute heat throughout.

As you can see on the bottem the drawers pull out, does this mean I will be able to possibly install flex watt tape on the inside of this? (once I move this out I will take it apart and take more pictures)

I hope to house Ball Pythons (babies and adults), The Cal King, and Possibly a Boa. (The skink I am giving to my best friend as a Christmas gift!)


Let me know your opinions on what you can see so far! I am REALLY excited!
 
It does however look like their is room for you to install flexx watt tape underneath them, it will be tight, but you can pull it off.
Make sure to get a T-stat too as the FW Tape can exceed tempeatures of 100 degrees.
 
Boa Delights said:
It does however look like their is room for you to install flexx watt tape underneath them, it will be tight, but you can pull it off.
Make sure to get a T-stat too as the FW Tape can exceed tempeatures of 100 degrees.
Click to expand...

similar cages as pictured that I have encountered are built with melamine on the bottom. If that is the case, trying to heat the bottom with flexwatt would not work. Flexwatt recommends that its product does not exceed 95 degrees to avoid failure.
 
Found out that there is a vent that can blow hot hair in... and filter. They didn't have a filter in it, but I would take advantage of it. I still need to take more pictures. But there are also thermostat dials and hydrostat... So I believe you can control each environment separately.
 
You truly did get an amazing deal.
How are you liking the king?
She's the first potato chip.
What's your next?
 
That was an awesome deal. I would have jumped on that without thought at all.

I do agree that most people will not use flexwatt with a melamine bottom. I have used it on melamine with success. You must be very very careful not to cause a fire hazard.

You could put the heat on the back if it is glass as well. I have also put a heat pad on a peice of glass and then place it in the bottom of the tanks sealing around it and spacing it off the bottom to insure there is no possibility that a water or stool spill would make contact with the heat pad. I did that when I converted an old tube tv to a cage and it is still in use 2 years later without any problems ever.

Some times it is easier to heat a whole room to your minimum temp needs and then a bulb for basking. Many people do that when they have many reptiles in their collection.

A lot a retail stores don't have the understanding of the needs of their animals and the care they get while in the store are(sometimes) subpar. They might be able to do without heat with just a hot spot for a while when they are on sale but it may not be proper temps for long term care. Cal Kings are very simple to care for, usually eat well, and are great pets. Sometimes just a little nippy in the cage, but not usually aggressive.

Whatever kind of heat you decide to use just make sure that you have it on a thermostat and/or reostat. Actually both is the best and safest method. Just use a reostat to set a max temp ever so slighty than what you need and then use the thermostat to control it. That way if the Thermostat ever sticks on it wont cook your animal or start a fire from overheating. Basking lights are a great tool, but you have to make sure it doesn't dry the cages out too much as it will lower the humidity substantially and probably require misting and/or partially covering the tops of the cages to keep the humidity high enough. Even if they have melamine bottoms you can get creative and work around it, it just takes a little extra effort.

Jacob
 
Shadera said:
Ah! So you've moved out and mom's no longer paying your bills, then?
Click to expand...

Nope. My father (parents are divorced) was willing to get involved in my hobby. He lives 2hrs away though. He is caring for Cali. I will be taking photos of her this weekend to show. My friend is loving her blue tongued skink! He is terrified of us, but we are getting him out and he is warming up to us slowly.

The cal king is beautiful and curious. She is very active and doesn't mind attention. The pet store owner said she is probably in her 20s though, kind of sad that she won't be around much longer.

Not sure if I mentioned this, but this snake was the first snake I had ever held. I asked to get her out and loved her. She stayed at that pet store for over 7 months afterwards along with the skink. There isn't a market in my town for reptiles it seems. But I think it is cool that I ended up with her.


I am still in the process of moving out. Waiting on cousin to get his act together. In the mean time I am saving up and continuing to educate those around me of what I know and what I plan to do. I keep meeting alot of interesting people, that I wouldn't have guessed were into the hobby.
 
Boa Delights said:
You truly did get an amazing deal.
How are you liking the king?
She's the first potato chip.
What's your next?
Click to expand...


I planned to have her as a pet, and maybe breed her to continue her legacy around March. I also want to house a Boa of some sort on the top shelve there as another pet. But my main plan is to get into some ball python morphs. I want to make Lucys at first, and get into Champagne morphs. I love snakes in general and I hope to have a nice collection later in life.
 
IMAJACOBIAN said:
Whatever kind of heat you decide to use just make sure that you have it on a thermostat and/or reostat.

Jacob
Click to expand...

I have a thermostat and it works well, we tested it and she is loving the flex watt, fell right asleep on it at 88 F as a high. She has plently of hides and a bowel of water to soak in. She was in blue and stuck her head under water for a few seconds when she was exploring her cage, then proceeded to rub her head on the log we have. It was pretty cool, she is smart.

Just the little things. We feed her this weekend, she will be good and hungry. Eating on frozen thawd adult mice. But feeding shouldn't be an issue for a cal king lol.
 
They are usually pretty good eaters.

What kind of bottom do those tanks have that the flexwatt is attached to?

A Cal King in their 20's is pretty old and may not breed or be able to safely. I don't have any snakes that old, so that may be a qwuestion for someone with more experience than me.

Jacob
 
IMAJACOBIAN said:
They are usually pretty good eaters.

What kind of bottom do those tanks have that the flexwatt is attached to?

A Cal King in their 20's is pretty old and may not breed or be able to safely. I don't have any snakes that old, so that may be a qwuestion for someone with more experience than me.

Jacob
Click to expand...

Yes, I was concerned about it. I will start a new thread another forum. I also was concerned about if she would eat another snake...

That may just be ignorance talking.

I fed her two adult mice today, she took them down well. I got bit because I dropped the first mouse and went in after it. Not her fault and it was not a big deal at all. She approaches the meal very slowly (not what I expected) then she strikes inches away.

She ate the first mouse very quickly and it seemed she wanted more... so I gave it to her. I bought 1 for $5... it was expensive. American rodent supply cannot take anymore orders unless you were a costumer in the last 12 months.

(posting photos of her now)
 
What pet store did that come from? I'm over in that area all the time visiting my brother and totally would have snatched that up lol.
 
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