Monitors - Big cage heating

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Harlequinsaviman Juggernutz Sidbarvin Harlequinsaviman AlbigCrazy Sidbarvin Harlequinsaviman CONSTRIKTR Sidbarvin Harlequinsaviman Shay_ Harlequinsaviman John Anthony Adragna Harlequinsaviman CONSTRIKTR John Anthony Adragna Mdf John Anthony Adragna Sidbarvin Weeze Sidbarvin Weeze Sidbarvin Sidbarvin The Dirty Andorian Sidbarvin Sidbarvin The Dirty Andorian Reedie Sidbarvin

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#1546000

Harlequinsaviman
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Big cage heating

i built a cage that is 10’L x 8’W x 6’ tall I’m asking what would you guys suggest i could do to heat and or for the basking area. I have 3x 150watt lights on one basking area bit i don’t think that doing it because its really cool on the cool side.

12/13/07 11:28pm

#1546006

Juggernutz
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Message To: Harlequinsaviman In reference to Message Id: 1546000

Big cage heating

Thanks a really big cage, what are you housing in it?

12/13/07 11:35pm

#1546015

Sidbarvin
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Message To: Juggernutz In reference to Message Id: 1546006

Big cage heating

One of these

12/13/07 11:42pm

#1546019

Harlequinsaviman
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Message To: Sidbarvin In reference to Message Id: 1546015

Big cage heating

nope I’m housing my 1.5’ Savannah monitor. but i need some idea on how to heat it

12/13/07 11:47pm

#1546028

AlbigCrazy
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Message To: Harlequinsaviman In reference to Message Id: 1546019

Big cage heating

Roger just told you............

12/13/07 11:56pm

#1546032

Sidbarvin
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Message To: Harlequinsaviman In reference to Message Id: 1546019

Big cage heating

Maybe one of these on the cool end

12/13/07 11:59pm

#1546036

Harlequinsaviman
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Message To: Sidbarvin In reference to Message Id: 1546032

Big cage heating

i don’t know how to do electrical work oopss ill try though

12/14/07 12:04am

#1546037

CONSTRIKTR
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Message To: AlbigCrazy In reference to Message Id: 1546028

Big cage heating

He meant the battery of lights, not the Nile.
Like these...........

12/14/07 12:05am

#1546039

Sidbarvin
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Message To: Harlequinsaviman In reference to Message Id: 1546036

Big cage heating

I’ll walk you through it tomorrow. I have to get my beauty sleep now.

Roger

12/14/07 12:06am

#1546041

Harlequinsaviman
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Message To: Sidbarvin In reference to Message Id: 1546039

Big cage heating

alright thanks but i like your nile

12/14/07 12:09am

#1546069

Shay_
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Message To: Harlequinsaviman In reference to Message Id: 1546041

Big cage heating

I would definitely consider sealing and insulating all the walls on a cage that size. That will save you money on your electric bill in the long run.

Banks of basking lights are needed, but I don’t think they’ll keep the ambient temps up throughout the cage. You may want to look into additional options to keep the ambient temp up around 80-ish. A couple high watt CHEs may do the trick.

12/14/07 12:46am

#1546255

Harlequinsaviman
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Message To: Shay_ In reference to Message Id: 1546069

Big cage heating

if i insulate it i would have to do it on the inside but ill just caulk everything up

12/14/07 09:23am

#1546285

John Anthony Adragna
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Message To: Harlequinsaviman In reference to Message Id: 1546255

Big cage heating

my larger enclosures are 2x4 framed, insulated, frp lined and nearly air tight. it makes a huge difference with enclosures in cool parts of your home. i can get 140 plus basking temps and ambients in the low 80s with (2) 90 watt flood lights. these are heating 8l x 4d x 5h cages. regards - John

12/14/07 10:43am

#1546355

Harlequinsaviman
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Message To: John Anthony Adragna In reference to Message Id: 1546285

Big cage heating

thanks guys Im getting ideas but i like rogers idea i think it would work better. keep the ideas coming john nice croc

12/14/07 12:03pm

#1546356

CONSTRIKTR
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Message To: John Anthony Adragna In reference to Message Id: 1546285

Big cage heating

Dude, your monitors are always so cool to lool at! Thanks!
Alex

12/14/07 12:03pm

#1546403

John Anthony Adragna
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Message To: CONSTRIKTR In reference to Message Id: 1546356

Big cage heating

its a sulfur, not a croc. either way, thanks guys. i will be posting photos of a room im building for my ackies and tristis. this project will begin before xmas.

best regards

John

12/14/07 01:18pm

#1546594

Mdf
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Message To: Harlequinsaviman In reference to Message Id: 1546255

Big cage heating

If you live in a cold climate , i would insulate, you would need some big wattage bulbs to keep a 10x8 heated and you know what follows next , trouble keeping the correct humidity. You could use a oil filled rad with climate control, even then they heat from the ceiling down if your soil is on a cold floor, your Savs burrows/hides will be to cold. i would have a good think about where your going with a cage that size and how best long term you can maintain it, most of us can buy a 4x2x2 shop bought cage and maintain it the trick is building a custom made one several times bigger and keeping the right temps etc.

happy building.
mdf

12/14/07 05:05pm

#1546654

John Anthony Adragna
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Message To: Mdf In reference to Message Id: 1546594

Big cage heating

Hi,

my cages are elevated so the floor does not influence cage temps as much. i built the cages on cinderblocks to keep them off the concrete floor. with a solid ceiling, and little ventilation, there is no humidity loss problem. i have deep (18") substrate of leaves and sand. shallow substrate will dry out much faster.

Cheers

John

12/14/07 06:07pm

#1547093

Sidbarvin
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Message To: Harlequinsaviman In reference to Message Id: 1546255

Big cage heating

You’ll need some basic carpentry tools. Also, get yourself a heavy duty construction grade extension chord A tube or two of polyurethane caulk some 2" stainless steel screws and some keyless ceramic light fixtures. Here are some pictures.

I cut a 3’ 1x6 and a 3’ 2x6 and dirlled 2 1/2" holes evenly spaced in the 1x4. The 2x4 has a 3/4" deep grove 3/4" wide cut lengthwise down the center for the wires to run through once the two boards are screwed together.

Put a bead of polyurethane caulk around the bottom of the fixtures, center them over the holes and use 1" stainless steel screws to attach them to the board. Cut the extension chord in lengths. Remove the plastic and you will find a black wire and a white wire. The black connects to the brass colored screws on the back of the fixtures and the white, the silver screws.

When all the fixtures are wired together, attach the end of the chord to the last fixture. Let the green wire (ground) run to the end of the board, past the fixtures a couple inches and cut it off. Use the caulk to cover all the connections on the back of the fixtures. You should not be able to see any bare wire or the screws on the fixtures. Put a bead of caulk arount the outside edge of the 2x6 on the side with the groove cut in it. Put the 1x4 with the fixtures, wires duwn, on the 2x6. The wires should sit in the groove and the boards should fit tightly together with no gap. The extension chord should be sticking out if the end of the boards from a hole created by the groove in the 2x6. Use the 2" screws to screw the boards together around the perimeter of the 1x4, well awat from the wires. Wipe off excess caulk and fill any gaps where the chord comes from the end of the boards.
Hopefully I explained it well enough. If not ask questions.

Roger

12/15/07 01:20am

#1548890

Weeze
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Message To: Harlequinsaviman In reference to Message Id: 1546000

Big cage heating

When I had my nile I had a similar problem of how to effectively heat it. I have no picture to illustrate what I did but I can explain it somewhat. I used a similar battery of lights like the others told you to, but I had a hard time keeping the coolside temperature down. The burrow was at a good temp but the air temp above it was always ranging from 90-95. What I did was use remodeling eyeball can lights (the lights in ceilings that can swivel) and mounted them on the left side of the cage which was built at a 15 degree angle, pointed them downwards and built the cool side a little higher so no direct heat hit over there. I coupled that with a fiberglass substrate heater and got a 3’x 4’ basking area that reached temps (depending on how the lights were pointed to simulate seasonal changes) between 115-145 degrees. It’s a little expensive (@ $170) but worked perfect. I hope this helps you along the way.

J

12/16/07 10:26pm

#1548937

Sidbarvin
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Message To: Weeze In reference to Message Id: 1548890

Big cage heating

Sounds a bit complicated to me. I heat a 13x15 foot bedroom with 2 sets of the light banks alone. In summer I ventilate the room and turn the lights off at night. I heat an 8x4 foot cage with one set in the summer and ventilate the cage low, just above the substrate level to keep temps down. In the winter I use 2 extra one hundred watt floods in an outdoor fixture like the one pictured above. I can easily controll temperatures in my cages using these methods of adding and subtracting bulbs and increasing or decreasing ventilation.

12/16/07 11:06pm

#1548964

Weeze
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Message To: Sidbarvin In reference to Message Id: 1548937

Big cage heating

That top picture you have is you in the "cage"? Thats not a cage, that’s a room! That is awesome, you did some great work there. I didn’t notice the pic before. It’s a monitor paradise, seriously.

12/16/07 11:46pm

#1549030

Sidbarvin
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Message To: Weeze In reference to Message Id: 1548964

Big cage heating

Thank you J. It’s a lot of work maintaining the climate in there but they seem to do well. Im not sure if it is a monitor paridise, but I try, heh heh.

12/17/07 01:45am

#1611475

Sidbarvin
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Message To: Sidbarvin In reference to Message Id: 1546015

Big cage heating

bump

02/05/08 08:41pm

#1611498

The Dirty Andorian
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Message To: Sidbarvin In reference to Message Id: 1547093

Big cage heating

Quote:
Youï¿½ll need some basic carpentry tools. Also, get yourself a heavy duty construction grade extension chord A tube or two of polyurethane caulk some 2" stainless steel screws and some keyless ceramic light fixtures. Here are some pictures.

Sidbarvin, couldnâ€™t one substitute Romex for the Yellow Jacket extension cord (guessing from the color)?

02/05/08 08:47pm

#1611516

Sidbarvin
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Message To: The Dirty Andorian In reference to Message Id: 1611498

Big cage heating

Romex would be better.

02/05/08 08:55pm

#1611527

Sidbarvin
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Message To: Sidbarvin In reference to Message Id: 1611516

Big cage heating

Actually, Dirty, Iâ€™m not sure how resistent to moisture romex is. You would have to give it a shot. Seems like moisture could penetrate the metal coating.

02/05/08 08:59pm