heat cable?

[moswen]

hey everyone! has anyone used this or heard of it?

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...nd-rocks/-/zoo-med-115-foot-repti-heat-cable/

i'd like to thread this around and through my new enclosed spider tort enclosure, like how they do heated flooring, you know? but i only want to use it in certain areas, maybe make a small square in all 4 corners to keep the night time cold at bay? right now i'm just using 2 che's but i worry that they're not penetrating the substrate and getting to my little babies at night.

 

[coreyc]

That one is water resistant Big Apple Herp's has one that is water proof Madkins oo7 is using it. check the thread using subsoil heating cable under enclosures. I would go with the water proof but that's just me

 

[Edna]

I'm using the repti-cable from lllreptile. It does a nice job of keeping the enclosure temps where they need to be. I'm using the 75 watt in a Christmas tree storage tub.

 

[PeanutbuttER]

I'm using a hydor hydrokable. Works great and is waterproof. I agree that anything less than waterproof is risky.

 

[moswen]

thank you guys! that was the only one i'd ever found, thanks for the other suggestions, i agree about water resistant, i definately would prefer water PROOF if i have the option!

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

Heat comes from above, from the sun... My worry is that when a tort wants to cool down and borrow or move closer to the forest floor, he doesn't want heat radiating up. IMO, I would at least only do it in one area or if you are having heating troubles, but otherwise I would see no need to add it.

 

[moswen]

jordan, it's nice to see you back on here, you were gone for a long while! well, i want to rim the edges of my spider's enclosure with it, and put some coils in each corner. i won't put it all over the whole bottom, but their enclosure is 4'x2.5' and it's incredibly difficult to get heat under the substrate on the opposite end of the heat bulb. a great majority of the time my husband's temp gun reads 68 degrees on the cool end when i dig under the substrate to get a reading. their substrate is deep and the bottom of their enlcosure is off the ground so it's room temperature, which is 68 at night and 70 during the day. i have a real hard time with their humidity because i think that wet/humid+68 degrees will cause uri's, so i feel like i have to dig them up 2-3 times a day to soak them... and i don't like to do that because i feel like they'll eventually get stressed out. lol, quite a dilemma huh? also, heat from underneath will cause the wet substrate to create a little more humidity! i went ahead and got the one from big apple herp, and i bought a rheostat too (recommended) so i only plan on keeping the substrate heated to 75 degrees where the heat cable is. i assume it will probably stay around 70 or so where the heat cable isn't, so they'll have a great amount of microclimates to utilize. i won't be depending on the heat cable to create the amount of heat that will re-create their basking spot, i just want to keep the cold at bay so i can feel safe about watering their substrate outside of the area under the heat lamp. lol, what do you think?

 

[Edna]

Heat comes from above, from the sun... My worry is that when a tort wants to cool down and borrow or move closer to the forest floor, he doesn't want heat radiating up. IMO, I would at least only do it in one area or if you are having heating troubles, but otherwise I would see no need to add it.

The sun does not always provide heat, and the ground is not always cooler.
This time of the year, where I live, the ground maintains a temp of 55 degrees or so, while the above-ground air is 20 below some of the time. Wild torts all over the US burrow to find warmer temps. RV is in Arizona and spends cold days and nights in her burrrow, where it is much warmer.
I am making up a 20 degree difference over my house temp to get my enclosure temps to 80 degrees, and heat cable is the best way to do that.

 

[Madkins007]

Jordan-

In captivity, especially in the cooler climates, we can easily have a situation where the substrate is clammy or even chilly. This is especially noticeable in more humid habitats or when wetting the substrate for humidity.

To off-set this, I use a waterproof heating cable (mine is from Big Apple Herp) to keep the soil at about 75-80F. I regulate the heat with a combination of thermostatic controller and how the cables are laid out and spaced. Yes, there is an unheated section- but none of my guys is ever found in the hide in that part, so I must be doing OK.

Besides- 'heat from above'? That is a bit more over-simplified than I'd expect from you. In the wild, the sun heats the air, and the soil nice and deep as the seasons get warmer and the days longer. After a bit, the soil will be warmer than the air and provide a gentle heat in the shade, at night, and even in shallow dens. Most of our tortoises work pretty dang hard to AVOID the sun's heat from above in the summer, yet still stay warm because of the warm soil, etc.

---

Jordan-

In captivity, especially in the cooler climates, we can easily have a situation where the substrate is clammy or even chilly. This is especially noticeable in more humid habitats or when wetting the substrate for humidity.

To off-set this, I use a waterproof heating cable (mine is from Big Apple Herp) to keep the soil at about 75-80F. I regulate the heat with a combination of thermostatic controller and how the cables are laid out and spaced. Yes, there is an unheated section- but none of my guys is ever found in the hide in that part, so I must be doing OK.

Besides- 'heat from above'? That is a bit more over-simplified than I'd expect from you****. In the wild, the sun heats the air, and the soil nice and deep as the seasons get warmer and the days longer. After a bit, the soil will be warmer than the air and provide a gentle heat in the shade, at night, and even in shallow dens. Most of our tortoises work pretty dang hard to AVOID the sun's heat from above in the summer, yet still stay warm because of the warm soil, etc.




(****- this was meant as a 'wink-wink-nudge-nudge' sort of joshing statement, but does not read that way, so I included this note to clarify that.)



(Not that the earlier note should be taken to mean that you would not have figured out that it was meant as a tease, but I wanted to be clear and was not trying to imply that you would not have figured it out on your own.)



(Gods, even that last note sounded condescending! I take it all back!)



(I guess I could just re-write the sentence instead of adding all of these notes, but this is the more fun route.)



(So I guess I will keep it up for a while longer.)



(OK, I'm done now.)



(I mean- I'm done NOW!)



(Seriously. Finished.)




(What, don't you believe me? I'm done. Right now.)




(Except to add the period and closing quote. I had to finish that part right?)




(No, put down that weapon! I'll stop! I swear! Back off! HELP ME(M YViibvafi7e DKCN X N c

 

[moswen]

haha, mark, what was that? you look like 50 cent, he starts fights with himself and his dog on twitter lol.

i think jordan was just trying to state the fact that i should not be using a heating cable to heat my torts to a comfortable temperature and replace a basking spot with a heated cable, right jordan? sorry if i'm wrong!

but, either way, i think most ppl would agree that a hatchling and yearling pyxis arachnode arachnode needs warmer than 68 degree substrate, right again? so, now that the temperature of my substrate is known, i bet everyone would agree that a heated cable is probably a good idea, right AGAIN?

lol, anyways, mark, i hope you're okay! ;D

 

[Balboa]

ROFL @ Mark,

and glad I'm not alone in understanding that ground is sometimes warmer than air

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

No offense taken I don't think our comments are mutually exclusive.

I now understand the circumstances better... so sorry for being unhelpful lol

---

Made me reconsider if I need heat cables!

 

[Madkins007]

I'm glad everyone enjoyed my psychotic break!