Bad Flexwatt Tape Idea?

Question

I'm making a custom cage and I had an idea. If my cage is made out melamine and I put flewatt inside the tank and an extremely thin sheet of wood, (which would be the exact size of the floor, to hide the flexwatt and any access to it) would that be a bad idea? would the wood burn? and incase you're wondering. I'm planning to hook it up a thermostat.

Answer 1

Just like francly said there absolutely needs to be air space around the flexwatt heat panel i have used flexwatt for well over 20 years and never had a problem of over heating . what i do is put the flexwatt under the cage on the bottom .      ( not inside at all)  you should look up the proper install instructions or you can cause a fire.

Answer 2

There needs to be a minimum of air flow to keep the flexwatt from overheating.  You might try using the heat pads designed for use in the tank. They are available from Big Apple Pet supply.  That's what I'm using in my melamine cornsnake cages.  I use the desert heat panels (basically laminated flex watt) in the arboreals and it states on there that at least one side has to be open to avoid excessive heat buildup.

Answer 3

No, the wood won't burn. I have melamine cages which I built and I placed the Flexwatt inside the cage and siliconed a thin piece of plexiglass over it. Some people use sticky tiles. This keeps the Flexwatt from getting wet when the snake pees. I have the probe of the thermostat directly on top of the plexiglass and the thermostat keeps it at the desired temperature. I have no problem with excessive heat build up. My snakes are breeding and doing well.