Hello everyone

[Newhere]

Hello everyone,
I'm new here just joined today and I've got a question for anyone reading this. I've just got a 3Ft enclosure and I'm planning on getting my first pet snake its a flat pack fully wired up enclosure with three ceramic light fittings and a fluro aswell but two of the fittings are wired together and then wired to the thermostat. This is confusing me because I can't figure out which bulbs to use as they will both be constantly on and controlled by the thermostat. I was planning on using one bulb for day and one for night but they will both be wired together and there is no switch to seperate them. Should I just use two smaller watt night bulbs in the fittings that are connected together and then use the fluro aswell as the heat lamps during the day?

Thanks for taking the time to read my message any advice would be greatly appreciated

K

 

[MesseNoire]

Welcome.

What kind of thermostat is it?

 

[AirCooled]

Hi K,
Welcome to APS
If its for a snake then you only need a hot spot at one end,degrees and heat gradient depends on species.If you can post a pic or 2 that would be helpful.

 

[krusty]

Hey k,welcome to the site......cheers krusty.

 

[Newhere]

Hey, I'm not sure what kind of thermostat it is as it doesn't have a name on it. Its a enclosure made by ReptaPets called the ReptaHomeSeries if anyone is familiar with them. I tried to upload some pics but its taking too long to load so I think something is wrong with it, or me lol. Anyway its basically two light fittings with one cable connected between them and then one cable going from the second one to the thermostat. I'm thinking I should use one of those blue/purple night heating lamps in one fitting and maybe a ceramic heat emitter in the other fitting and run them both 24/7 controlled by the thermosat. Then just put the fluro light on a timer so it runs during the day. I'm just worried because they are both connected and if I only use one bulb there will still be power going to the empty light fitting. This is a diagram if it makes sense, F is for Fitting and the lines are the cables/wires (F1)----(F2)------------>Themostat<----------->Power Point.

 

[Newhere]

Also I'm planning on getting a jungle python to put in there

 

[Newhere]

89 views so far and only 3 replies lol thanks to those that made the effort to help

 

[Becca-Marie]

I think u have the right idea with a night bulb and che. Hopefully you get more replies

Sent from my LG-P690f using Tapatalk 2

 

[Newhere]

Thanks Becca, I was reading that the ceramic heating elements are meant to be used with a pulsing thermostat or something but I think the thermostat in my enclosure is just an on/off one. Does anyone know if they can be used with an on/off thermostat?

Also what size elements/bulbs would be good to heat a 900mm x 600mm x 600mm enclosure? Its 324 litres I think. I was reading in another thread you should have a 200w for an enclosure this size so I was thinking maybe a 100w bulb and a 100w element. Or two 100w bulbs if my thermostat isn't right for the elements.

 

[BeZaKa]

One of my setups is similar in size to yours I use a 100 watt ceramic for overhead heat and a 28 watt heat matt for belly heat (both on the same side of the enclosure) the thermostat switches off at 32 degrees and back on when it drops 2 degrees. This seems to do the job, hope that helps a bit. Cheers

 

[Newhere]

G'day mate, thanks for that it does help. That means I might be better off using a 75w ceramic and a 75w bulb. I have two light fittings wired into my thermostat so I wouldn't be able to use a heat mat unless I got a new thermostat to go with it. I'm just waiting for my temp gun to get here in the post so I can start experimenting with bulb sizes and getting the temps right.

 

[sharky]

I'm just waiting for my temp gun to get here in the post so I can start experimenting with bulb sizes and getting the temps right.

That's the way to go Trial and error until you find the perfect combination!

Good choice on the snake as well, love jungles and I'm sure you will too!
Good luck!

 

[BeZaKa]

G'day mate, thanks for that it does help. That means I might be better off using a 75w ceramic and a 75w bulb. I have two light fittings wired into my thermostat so I wouldn't be able to use a heat mat unless I got a new thermostat to go with it. I'm just waiting for my temp gun to get here in the post so I can start experimenting with bulb sizes and getting the temps right.

Keep in mind with the ceramic heat emitters that they are distance relative, meaning really close very hot and they lose alot of heat the further away you get. Dont know how to explain it better. Google "ceramic heat emitters" and im sure you will find distance to wattage to heat, its what i did. I went a bit stronger than i needed due to the room its in gets quiet cold therefore requiring extra kick to maintain night time temps. Ps. I am no expert on jungles.... not even a novice:lol: so others may be able to give you more specific help.
Cheers.

 

[Newhere]

That's the way to go Trial and error until you find the perfect combination!

Good choice on the snake as well, love jungles and I'm sure you will too!
Good luck!

Thanks sharky I know that if I don't have enough heat the bulbs and emitters will be on 24/7 but how frequently should they switch on and off if I am using the right wattage?

Yep I love the look of jungles even though they have a bad reputation and I know I'm going to get bit at some stage I still have to get one lol I've seen lots of people say they calm down eventually so I guess its just about building trust between you and the snake

 

[Newhere]

Thanks Bezaka, I had a look and found a chart thing showing the temps at various distances from the emitters and I reckon I'll go with the 100w as jungles are semi arboreal and I will be putting a branch underneath the emitter so it can bask up there.

Do I need to provide the same high end temps inside the hide as the basking area? If so would it be a good idea to make some sort of platform closer to the overhead heating? My enclosure is 60cm high and even the 250w ceramic emitter doesn't provide enough heat for basking that far away so I'm not sure if I should invest in a heat mat for underneath the hide or just try and raise the hide closer to the emitter