Heat tape question

[Chris_Skeleton]

My last purchase, I got three Ts, in an expo style enclosure, and it came with heat tape on the bottom. I powered it up to see how hot it would get, and it gets pretty hot, and I know you should not put it on the bottom in case they burrow, so I have not used it since. The enclosure is acrylic with a wood bottom and I was planning on putting it on the side in the back. It gets really hot through the wood underneath. Will it be okay to put it on the side (back)? I know they will move away, I just fear it will be too hot. Forgive me, I don't have much experience with the heat pads and such, I use a space heater, but for some reason it doesn't heat my whole room anymore.

Thanks

 

[briarpatch10]

I have a acrylic from tarantulahomes , I bought it from a woman that had a B.smithi in it, she knew nothing about T's, No water dish, too small of a hide, molt pieces..ect any way she had a heat pad on botton of her tank and it melted a hole in the bottom of the tank...I would never put a heat pad on acrylic after seeing what it did...hope this helps

 

[Ictinike]

Chris,

I think if you had a very good thermostat it could be used on the back or sides but I opted for heated cabinets. While this isn't the most efficient form of it's use it's one of the safer.

I ran two 4 foot sections down the center of the cabinet atop some foil tape to not only protect the back board on the cabinet but also to help reflect some of the heat back into the cabinet. This has done well and I pretty much have both going now @ 82-85F round the clock. I've added a large bowl of water as well to help bring up the local humidity as well.

While not totally practical for everyone I'm thinking this is most wisest ways of using heat tape but if you can keep the temps down as not to cause issues with the acrylic or heat tape itself it could work.

Heat tape, at least the brand I purchased (I think there really is only one mfg'er) states to keep the tape below 95F for risk of burning, melting the tape etc. I would think if you can adequately keep it way below this you could get a better transfer via contact with the enclosure but also it has to be wired so if you want several you'll have to run multiple wires as well figuring out how to mount them properly for removal, etc, etc.

This is why a non-contact application like the cabinets, bookshelves, etc is easier and I can remove any enclosure I want at anytime or move things around without having to fandangle everything around causing bigger issues.

The cabinets I own came from WalMart and ran about 60$ disassembled which is great for what they are used for. I have a link in the other thread about heating tarantulas or PM me and I can give you directly.

Cheers,