Another cabinet another conversion - heating options

[Porkbones]

Soooooo just picked up this tv cabinet.
plan was to knock a hole in the shelf or cut shelf to shape so me 2 1/2 yo male bredli could cruise between the 2 areas, even tho I knew the size of the cabinet before I picked it up i still can't get over how big it is. So now I'm thinking of changing my ideas and I'm liking my new idea as it will save me a lot of room.
just added the pic and for the life of me I don't know why it has turned sideways lol and can't seem to find if there is a rotate picture button anywhere.so hopefully jax will see and be kind enough to turn it for me
so back to it…so these are all internal measurements.
width of cabinet 1170 mm
depth of cabinet 420mm (back wall to front face)
top section - top of cabinet to shelf 400mm
main section - shelf to floor of cabinet 810 mm
door section -floor to base 460mm

so now I've seen the size I'm now thinking of putting my yearling spotted in the top section, which will mean he will have a home of H400xW1170xD420
Which will now leave the bredli to have a home of H816xW1170xD420 which should still be plenty heaps for him.

original plan was going to use a routed heat cord and tile on the shelf or heat lamp through the very top of the unit and cut part of the shelf out.
Am now thinking heat mat for the spotted ( hes already on a heat mat) but not sure how to heat up the bredli area. Im using a heat lamp for him, you can take a look at my only DIY (another DIY tv cabinet/enclosure thread) so I'm thinking I might have to change him to a heat cord.

any ideas or tips please don't be shy to let me know. There is no rush for this to be finished

Edit: changed the orientation of the cabinet so our members dont suffer neck strain

 

[DarwinBrianT]

That cabinet looks great! As for the heat, for my money I love the heat pads that you screw to the roof. You would just have to put a shelf or branch up high for the snake to sit on.

 

[Porkbones]

That cabinet looks great! As for the heat, for my money I love the heat pads that you screw to the roof. You would just have to put a shelf or branch up high for the snake to sit on.

Heat pad / heat mat.?? How much difference between the 2??

 

[DarwinBrianT]

Sorry I called it the wrong name it is a Radiant heat panel that I use.
One doesn't burn your house down. lol Sorry I shouldn't joke about it. I'll never use a heat mat, I gave a new one I had away the other day. That's how much I don't like them. But that is just my 2c, others will say they are fine to use and for the most part they are.

I'll only use heat cord or Radiant heat panels. Google them.

 

[Porkbones]

Sorry I called it the wrong name it is a Radiant heat panel that I use.
One doesn't burn your house down. lol Sorry I shouldn't joke about it. I'll never use a heat mat, I gave a new one I had away the other day. That's how much I don't like them. But that is just my 2c, others will say they are fine to use and for the most part they are.

I'll only use heat cord or Radiant heat panels. Google them.

yea ill go look at the heat panels . Thanks

 

[Porkbones]

Sorry I called it the wrong name it is a Radiant heat panel that I use.
One doesn't burn your house down. lol Sorry I shouldn't joke about it. I'll never use a heat mat, I gave a new one I had away the other day. That's how much I don't like them. But that is just my 2c, others will say they are fine to use and for the most part they are.

I'll only use heat cord or Radiant heat panels. Google them.

just had a look at reptile radiators.they look good.with the heat lamp I'm using I get 34 degrees at around 30cm under the lamp. To get the same temp with 1 of these panels/radiators how far under it would i need to be?? It also said with the reptile radiator that the mounting side doesn't get to warm. I'm just wondering if I cut a hole in the shelf ,zigzagged heat cord in the hole cover the top with a tile an then maybe mesh the bottom.wonder how much heat would radiate downwards from the heat cord.would b nice to kill 2birds with 1 stone but somehow i don't think that will work lol

 

[andynic07]

just had a look at reptile radiators.they look good.with the heat lamp I'm using I get 34 degrees at around 30cm under the lamp. To get the same temp with 1 of these panels/radiators how far under it would i need to be?? It also said with the reptile radiator that the mounting side doesn't get to warm. I'm just wondering if I cut a hole in the shelf ,zigzagged heat cord in the hole cover the top with a tile an then maybe mesh the bottom.wonder how much heat would radiate downwards from the heat cord.would b nice to kill 2birds with 1 stone but somehow i don't think that will work lol

I think that it will work just as well as a heat panel. I think Snowman makes his own heat panels with large corflute and heat cord , he feeds the cord through the holes in the end of the corflute and winds it through. Don't forget that heat rises so any heat device will work best heating above it rather than down from it.

 

[Porkbones]

I think that it will work just as well as a heat panel. I think Snowman makes his own heat panels with large corflute and heat cord , he feeds the cord through the holes in the end of the corflute and winds it through. Don't forget that heat rises so any heat device will work best heating above it rather than down from it.

I've only used a lamp for the bredlis heat and know I can get 34 degrees to his perch about 30cm from th lamp. Never used or had anything to do with a radiator or panel so not sure how far under it I would have to have his perch to get the same temp.since I couldn't use a lamp maybe a cord under a tile.but then it will only give him belly heat.

 

[Porkbones]

And also don't know what temps a heat cord in the shelf idea will give me for the bredli in the bottom section.think I might ask pythonmum as I know she used a heat cord under a tile and then put mesh under the heat cord incase her snake wanted heat from the top.ill see what temps she gets under the cord.but it would b good to use 1 cord for both snakes

 

[andynic07]

I've only used a lamp for the bredlis heat and know I can get 34 degrees to his perch about 30cm from th lamp. Never used or had anything to do with a radiator or panel so not sure how far under it I would have to have his perch to get the same temp.since I couldn't use a lamp maybe a cord under a tile.but then it will only give him belly heat.

Not sure on what height but [MENTION=16369]J-A-X[/MENTION] makes the tile version for her arboreal species I think and [MENTION=16366]Snowman[/MENTION] his heat panels as mentioned and there is a guy on here [MENTION=9442]James_Scott[/MENTION] that sells ProHerp heat panels that may be able to give you advice.

 

[Porkbones]

Not sure on what height but @J-A-X makes the tile version for her arboreal species I think and @Snowman his heat panels as mentioned and there is a guy on here @James_Scott that sells ProHerp heat panels that may be able to give you advice.

Thanks for that mate will do some research on it

 

[andynic07]

They will all get a notification and may comment on this thread if your lucky. [MENTION=36220]Porkbones[/MENTION]

 

[Porkbones]

[MENTION=34534]andynic07[/MENTION] cheers for that

 

[James_Scott]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the mention. In regards to your setup with heating you can mount an 80W heat panel under the shelf to one side. This will not only heat the bredli but the spotted from below as well. Because of the size of the panel you will need to put a large vent in the top section of the enclosure on the cool end. Just keep a large water bowl in the upper enclosure as you will be heating 50% of the floor space and having a large vent will reduce the humidity.
Apart from that it should run very well. The 80W panel will give a hot spot of around 30-40C in the top enclosure and 30-35C in the lower enclosure (if you place a perch or shelf around 30cm away from the panel.
Good luck with the setup, it should be a lot of fun building.
BTW, we recommend using either a dimming or pulse proportional thermostat with these panels. Our thermostats wont be ready until mid next year now, but you can get the habistat branded ones from Brian at the HerpShop.

 

[Porkbones]

[MENTION=9442]James_Scott[/MENTION] mate thanks for ur reply. Really appreciate it. So these panels r quite big? And a cage can also be purchased for them. I'm surprised at how much heat will go thought the shelf and heat up the spotteds part and even more surprised tht I can still get a hotspot of around 30-35degrees 30 cm away

 

[DarwinBrianT]

You don't need a cage to go over the Radiant heat panel.

 

[Porkbones]

You don't need a cage to go over the Radiant heat panel.

Oh thanks.i saw reptile radiators and they say they are replacing the radiant heat panels, and u cn buy cages for the radiators .thought they must of been needed.

 

[James_Scott]

The amount of heat transfered through the shelf does vary depending on the thickness of the shelf and material it is made from but a single sheet of wood should give adequate heat for the enclosure above. The panels do not require a cage as the materials that are used to make them allow the heat to pass through without th panel getting too hot to touch. They are also shaped so your snake cannot wrap itself around it for any long periods of time (if at all).
There will be a few more models coming out next year to.

 

[Porkbones]

[MENTION=9442]James_Scott[/MENTION] I just saw and read up on the heat panel.wen I 1st googled it i ended up at the herp shop.but they only had the reptile radiator as they are replacing the heat panels.they (radiators) sound similar to the panel.says the radiators are keeping the benefits of the panels but with improvements like the mounting side not getting as hot and a bit more compact at 310mmx210mmx33mm. Thanks for steering me in the right direction

 

[James_Scott]

Just so we are clear, reptile radiators and radiant heat panels are the same thing. The biggest difference between the habistat panels and the proherp panels are size and the temperature the panel itself gets to. Although you dont have to use a cage on the habistat panels it is recommended as they will burn your snake if it wraps around it. You wont have this problem with the proherp panel. They both produce similar amounts of heat at any given distance. I still use some old habistat ones that I havent replaced with my own proherp panels yet because do the job. I find I get a lot more heat transfer through the top of the habistat panels than I do the proherp panels by at least 10C.
There are times when I will recommend the habistat panel over the proherp one such as if you have a 2x2x2 enclosure and need a lot of heat and a 40w panel just wont do. An 80w panel wont fit but a habistat panel will.
Panels are the way to regardless of which one suits your needs.