Winter Heating

[ChadRamsey]

Hello all, i am in the middle of building a rather large enclosure that my herps can "grow" into. It is going to be a wood frame structure. Similar to what is discussed in this thread:

http://www.newenglandreptile.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3144

The one i am building is going to be 4ft X 4ft X 9ft tall. Basically, three 48 x 48x 32 enclosures stacked. With divides that i can slide in and out that split the 3 stacked sections into 24x48. (Male and female sides).

My question is what will be the best way to keep the temp in favorable ranges in the winter time? I keep my house at about 70 in the winter. I was thinking of putting a false floor in the enclosure and using heating pads below it, and use heat lamps also. Were can i get 2ft X 4ft heating pads?.

Thansk for your input.
Chad

[Hennek]

There is always the good ol' flexiwatt. You could build it in the back of each level. If you used enough of it, it would run quite cool. Whatever way you go, remember to insulate it. This sucker is going to be heavy as hell anyway, so why not add some pink foam and then another layer of thin wood on top of that. This will save on electricity bills and keep the temp more constant.

[LdyDrgn]

You can get large Kane heat mats from Bean Farm (http://www.beanfarm.com) Click on Heating Supplies and it's in the Item 33-40 range. They aren't cheap, though...

[ChadRamsey]

Hennek, thanks, the pink foam idea, it will be perfect between the ply and the panel. As far as being heavy as hell, i am going to screw it all together so i can somewhat move it in sections if my wife decides to move in the future. Then again she can move, but i dont have to right?

LdyDrgn, thanks for the link. I like the 11X48 Ultratherm because of the low profile. If i go with that i will try one on each of the three floors and add another if needed. Do you think that they would be ok under linoleum?. Great link though i spend an hour just wondering around.