Heat Cord

[SnakeWrangler]

Hey,

Can anyone give me some tried and tested info about how well the heating cord performs. Like what the max temp is that can be achieved, does is create any ambient temperature or only in the immediate location, will is cause burns on direct contact to the animal, etc...

Cheers.

 

[Paddy]

heat cords

i am using one in a large enclosure for an olive python.
they are pretty good as a general heat source to warm the overall enclosure (if you spread them around it all) but i found that it struggled to raise the temperature high enough to be the sole heat source! it seemed to be able to reach 27 -29 degrees at tops for me. by using the likes of a ceramic heater you can create one definite heat spot for the reptile, and then the heat cord will help to take the chill out of the air throughout the rest of the enclosure for you.
i cant see it being hot enough to cause burns from direct contact, but what i did was get a matching length of electrical conduit and drill it with hundreds of small holes and then run the cable through that. it allows the warm air to get out and it prevents direct contact with the cord.
as they are fairly low wattage there is no problems using them with another heat source plugged into any of the good thermostats available.
hope this is of some help to you mate,
paddy

 

[SnakeWrangler]

Yeah, thanks that is very helpful. What was the average room temperature of the room in which you had it by itself, I will be having all my reptiles in one room and I will be having the entire room heated at about 24c constantly, I was thinking that if the temp of the enclosure was at the room temp then the area in which the heat cord was concentrated would be raised to around 30-32c. This wouldn't create a linear gradient but there would be a wide range of temps spread across the whole enclosure.

Also what size was the enclosure in which you ran it?

Thanks again.

 

[bigguy]

Snakewrangler, I would never use heat cord or a heat pad to heat a large enclosure. Its not designed for doing that. Heat cord would be very usefull in heating plastic tubs, and or plastic draw systems. It may also be usefull in creating a hot spot on the floor of a large enclosure. The best way to use it is to cut a groove in the floor for the length and shape you desire. Lay the cord in the groove and then cover with silican or a thin piece of wood. I would also recommend using it in conjunction with a thermostat.

 

[Simon_Archibald]

What Bob has said is totally right. These should never be the main heat source in an enclosure. The groove in the floor is the best way to go, best achieved with a router. I then just screw a piece of 3mm melamine over the top. This is easy to wipe clean and thin enough to allow heat transfer.

I have used them both with and without thermostats with equally good results, it just depends on what you are using them for.

Simon Archibald

 

[Paddy]

heat cords

even if your room temp is kept at a constant temp of approx. 24 degrees it will not make any difference in terms of getting the heat cord up to 30-32 degrees. they simply aren't designed for that purpose.
the enclosure i was using it in is 3'(l) * 6'(h) * 2'(d) so there was a definite need for additional heating.
hope you figure something out anyway wrangler!

 

[Fuscus]

I have a heat cord running under 3 600 x 300 x 300 cages. The cages floor is masonite and the cord sits in a groove on a piece of customwood. In cold weather it is not adequate so I have the whole thing sitting on another heated enclosure. Currently using the enclosures as hospital cages and can mantain 32.

I have heard of people making hot rocks by placing it between two tiles.

 

[SnakeWrangler]

I know this isn't their intented use but I am just thinking outside the box. Anyway, this will not be tested on any reptiles, I may setup a cage and monitor the temps is various places to see how it goes but I wouldn't subject any animals to it until I was absolutely certain it would work.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Simon_Archibald]

I would suggest that it would promote laziness if used as the primary heat source for lizards. This would not stimulate natural basking activity and associated behaviours. It would however provide excellent supplemental heating for nights.

Simon Archibald