I've mentioned in many posts that I like a sub-soil heating cable for my enclosure, and here is a quick bit on exactly how I did it.
1. Read the directions and make a plan before you do something you cannot easily recover from. "Measure twice, cut once".
2. Get the right length and design. I use the cable from Big Apple Herp (http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Flexible-Heat-Ropes) since it is completely waterproof. Take some time to make sure you get the right size for your cage- the salespeople can help. The more cable- the warmer the soil will be, and the more juice it draws.
3. Get a decent thermostatic controller. I am using a cheap Zoo-med. The purpose of the controller is to sense the temps in the soil and turn the cable on or off to control it so it does not get too hot. You can also regulate this by the soil thickness.
4. Choose your substrate. I'm using cypress for a Red-foot habitat. One benefit of the WATERPROOF design is that I can actually pour a layer of water into the habitat, and the water will conduct the heat more evenly AND I get a lot of humidity. More dense substrates are harder to heat this way, and the thicker the substrate, the less heat will rise all the way to the top.
5. Cut a piece of hardware cloth or stiff plastic mesh a bit smaller the size of your habitat floor. Take some time to file or treat the sharp pointy edges.
6. Lay your cable on the mesh to find your pattern. The closer together the coils, the warmer that area will be. You can make them closer together in the warm area, and further apart or missing in a cooler area if you want. If you are smart enough in your planning, you can even have them miss areas with potted plants, etc. Be sure to leave a long enough 'tail' with the plug to reach the outlet or extension cord you are using!
(Note: You may choose to go back and forth the short way or the long way. The long way covers more area with the cable, but there is more slack in the cables so they move some. The short way also allows better control over the spacing for hotter/cooler areas.)
7. Attach the cable to the mesh with something like nylon zip ties, wire ties, strong cord, etc. Do not secure them overly tightly!
(Note- the cord is pretty thin. To make things neat in my Tortarium, I drilled a small hole in one side and fed the cable through it. It made the rest of this step awkward since I had to work inside the Tortarium, but the results were worth it.)
8. Lay the mesh and wiring down, plug it in, and do a trial run for a while- any hot spots, smoking, sparking, etc.? If yes, call Balboa. If no, unplug it, let it cool, and add your substrate and water, turn it back on and let it set for an hour or so and recheck. If there are still no problems, put the torts, plants, etc. in and you are good to go!
Sorry, no photos- I am not digging it back up to photo-document the process. Otherwise, I hope this helps!
1. Read the directions and make a plan before you do something you cannot easily recover from. "Measure twice, cut once".
2. Get the right length and design. I use the cable from Big Apple Herp (http://www.bigappleherp.com/Big-Apple-Flexible-Heat-Ropes) since it is completely waterproof. Take some time to make sure you get the right size for your cage- the salespeople can help. The more cable- the warmer the soil will be, and the more juice it draws.
3. Get a decent thermostatic controller. I am using a cheap Zoo-med. The purpose of the controller is to sense the temps in the soil and turn the cable on or off to control it so it does not get too hot. You can also regulate this by the soil thickness.
4. Choose your substrate. I'm using cypress for a Red-foot habitat. One benefit of the WATERPROOF design is that I can actually pour a layer of water into the habitat, and the water will conduct the heat more evenly AND I get a lot of humidity. More dense substrates are harder to heat this way, and the thicker the substrate, the less heat will rise all the way to the top.
5. Cut a piece of hardware cloth or stiff plastic mesh a bit smaller the size of your habitat floor. Take some time to file or treat the sharp pointy edges.
6. Lay your cable on the mesh to find your pattern. The closer together the coils, the warmer that area will be. You can make them closer together in the warm area, and further apart or missing in a cooler area if you want. If you are smart enough in your planning, you can even have them miss areas with potted plants, etc. Be sure to leave a long enough 'tail' with the plug to reach the outlet or extension cord you are using!
(Note: You may choose to go back and forth the short way or the long way. The long way covers more area with the cable, but there is more slack in the cables so they move some. The short way also allows better control over the spacing for hotter/cooler areas.)
7. Attach the cable to the mesh with something like nylon zip ties, wire ties, strong cord, etc. Do not secure them overly tightly!
(Note- the cord is pretty thin. To make things neat in my Tortarium, I drilled a small hole in one side and fed the cable through it. It made the rest of this step awkward since I had to work inside the Tortarium, but the results were worth it.)
8. Lay the mesh and wiring down, plug it in, and do a trial run for a while- any hot spots, smoking, sparking, etc.? If yes, call Balboa. If no, unplug it, let it cool, and add your substrate and water, turn it back on and let it set for an hour or so and recheck. If there are still no problems, put the torts, plants, etc. in and you are good to go!
Sorry, no photos- I am not digging it back up to photo-document the process. Otherwise, I hope this helps!