# royal python snake rack, heat cable, please can someone give me advice!!



## azz123 (Jan 11, 2012)

hi all just built a 3 tier snake rack from melamine. will hold 3x 9ltr realy useful boxes. i am hoping to use heat cable and a pulse proportionate stat.

my questions are:

there are several lengths you can buy i.e. zoomed 3.5m 15w and 4.5m 25w and 12m 100w. why is there different wattage? what is the difference? which will i need?

i am going to be keeping 3 x royal pythons in here until they out grow it, then move them to a bigger RUB so would getting a longer than needed cable work? were would i put the excess cable?

how do i lay the cable? i know you lay it in loops and in rows about 2 inch apart but how many and do i cover 1 third of the floor space?

how do i increase temp or lower it? i know the stat is there to do that but why is the cable in different wattages? do i just lay them closer together and more rows of cable?

i am keeping this rack in my outbuilding/man cave which i am turning into a reptile room. i have it heated and it is around 19-22 deg C so its nice and warm in there already.

all advice realy appreciated thanks all.


----------



## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

You'll need a cable long enough to do all the shelves.

They come in different wattages because they come in different lengths. The longer the cable the higher the wattage needed to be able to heat the cable. It takes more energy / power to heat a longer room; the same way you'd need a higher wattage heater to warm a room.

If you're going to build a bigger rack then just buy a cable long enough for that and leave the unused cable coiled up

you'll need a router to cut channels in the shelves. Then put reflective tape over / in the channels and put the cable in.

You use the stat to control the temperature

The first two meters of cable don't heat up, so take that into consideration when working out which to buy.

This should give you an idea http://www.jnb-boas.co.uk/page23.htm


----------



## JamesJ (Apr 12, 2008)

As Meko say's, but I would not just coil up any unused cable that is heated as the cable may overheat. I know vision racks tell you not to put two rows of heat cable in direct contact with each other. You could just drape it down the back of the rack / on the floor behind it or something.


----------



## clown8 (Dec 24, 2009)

I'd use a mat stat and heat strip. Cheaper to buy and it'll do a better job for your needs. Edit Scrap that. Didn't read It properly. Thought it was one level of three. Not three levels of one.


----------



## azz123 (Jan 11, 2012)

ok so i will measure the distance from my plug to the rack then the amount needed for each 9ltrch rub.

ok so if they are 9ltr rubs how much surface space do i need to cover? 

how far apart should i have the loops and how many rows?
i take it the more i have the warmer they can get?

i have already assembled the rack so can not put channels in, was just going to use electrical tape to hold it down!

thanks for your advice guys!!!


----------



## JamesJ (Apr 12, 2008)

I would aim to cover 1/3 or so, depending on how warm your room is. I'd place each row of cable about an inch apart, so you would probably get 3 rows or so? 

The V35 Vision racks that I use only have 2 rows about an inch apart and that works but it's in a heated room, in a cooler room I would want at least 3 rows of cable. 

You could just tape the cable down but your tubs will need to have feet attached to allow them to sit properly over it, I have done this in the past on an old hatchling rack and it did work.


----------



## azz123 (Jan 11, 2012)

thanks getting the cable and stat first so can practice before i get the pythons.


----------



## JamesJ (Apr 12, 2008)

Sounds good! When you do get it set up and turned on for the first time I find it's best to set your thermostat to somewhere near the temperature you want and then leave it for 24 hours to settle and adjust as needed. If you don't let it settle I find you are constanly turning your stat up and down, so I always leave it 24 hours between each adjustment.


----------

