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Heating recommendation?

aleria

aleria

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Ok, so I'll be buying a new cage in a week or so and am trying to figure out the heating issue. My current AP cage is using a radiant heat panel and it's been great but was definitely on the high side of the price range. For my new cage I think I'd rather try their flexwatt option instead.

The only issue I'm having is figuring out how I want to heat the cage due to the fact that I'm going to be using a divider to turn the 4'x2'x1' cage into 2 2'x2'x1' cages instead. Their flexwatt is 11"x22" and pre-wired(which will be nice). So my option is either to run the 11"x22" down the middle divider so each side will have an area of about 5.5"x22", or I was thinking about asking if they could do an extra long piece that would run the full 4' of the cage so it would cover basically the back half of the floor of the cage on each side.

Would covering half of the floor in a cage that size be too much, even with a thermostat to keep it in check? Or would the 5.5"x22" coverage area on each side be enough? I'd just like to make sure I don't buy it to cover too much or too little and end up having to re-order and re-run the whole thing.
 
A bp in one side and a small boa in the other, but that will change and likely be one bp in each side eventually.
 
Is it 11" or 22" heat tape? (it makes a difference, though maybe not as much for you - in LA.
22" is a lower wattage product, and doesn't get as hot.) My guess is that it is probably 11".
It is difficult to make an informed recommendation without knowing the temperature of the room the cage will be in - including seasonal variances.
If the room is routinely warm, a full length strip of 11" heat tape (which will basically cover half the floor space) may well be too much....while, in a cooler area, you may find that 3inch tape doesn't give you the overall temps you desire. Personally, I don't think I would go with the 11" tape in the middle; but that is more based on how I like to do things than faults of that method.
 
The room stays between 70-75 degrees at all times. The size of the tape they said they sell is 11" and they usually cut it off at 22" long. So it seems most people recommend running the lower wattage 3" tape across the entire length of the cage, rather than the higher wattage down the small middle section.
If they do not have the 3" size that I see a lot of people recommending, where could I buy it pre-wired so I don't have to go through all of the hassle attempting to properly wire it myself?
 
Actually, AP does have other sizes available (heat tape is an option for their racks, as well)....it's just that they normally use 11" for that size cage. I'd plan on ordering over the phone, rather than online, as I don't think their online system really allows for much customization. They'll have to rout a different channel for your desired set up.

*I shouldn't say they DO - things change sometimes...but they DID have other sizes when I purchased my last racks from them*
 
Thanks, good to know, I'll just give them a call to place the order instead.

I know a lot of caging companies have changed their heating methods, preferences and recommendations over the years, so I'd rather make sure whatever I choose will last.
 
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