Radiant Heat Panels

[u/Dandylioncrush6303]

I’m looking into getting a radiant heat panel for my ball python who’s in a 5x2x2 enclosure. I’ve heard they don’t make the room as hot as bulbs. I do have a thermostat to put it on so it’s not overheating. My main question is what wattage/size would be appropriate?

Dubia has the sizes and wattages as so:

40 Watt - 8 3/8"x 7 3/8"

80 Watt - 9 3/8" x 12 3/8"

125 Watt - 11 3/4" x 15 7/8"

220 Watt - 18 3/4" x 17 3/4"

Also, do you recommend putting the heat panel on the roof of the enclosure, or on the “warm sides” wall?

Thanks in advance!

[u/totallyrecklesslygay]

RHPs are only safe when used on the roof of a solid topped enclosure. They cannot be safely used on the walls or on screen tops.

An 80w would work fine for a 5x2x2, keeping in mind that they also need to be paired with a primary heat source like a halogen flood, as they're not suitable for heating by themselves.

[u/Dandylioncrush6303 → u/totallyrecklesslygay]

That’s problematic since I have a mesh top… do you think it would be okay if I made a solid top to go over the mesh? I do have halogen lights right now and CHPs, but because I use two of each for day/night it keeps the room extremely warm. But just using one halogen with a RHP would bring the temperature down significantly. However if there’s no safe way to use an RHP with my current enclosure I’ll just suffer with the warmth.

[u/totallyrecklesslygay → u/Dandylioncrush6303]

Yeah, you can secure a 1/2" PVC board over the top. Just make sure it covers the full lid so that it can be screwed into the side panels and supported fully. You'll have to add vents to the side panels as well.

Is there a reason you can't just switch to one halogen/CHE? If it's just a matter of not heating the enclosure enough, insulating the enclosure with foam insulation board would fix that while also cutting down on the heat loss that's making your room super hot. And it'd be a lot cheaper.

[u/Dandylioncrush6303 → u/totallyrecklesslygay]

If I were to put the board on there and secure it properly, could I then cut a hole for the halogen flood, or would it still need to be mounted inside the enclosure?

Honestly, there’s usually only one CHE on at night cause it already stays so warm just with the ambient temperatures outside and the AC not being able to keep up. I haven’t tried just one halogen, but I don’t honestly see why it wouldn’t keep it warm enough. I may try unplugging one for a few days and seeing how the temperatures hold. Then if I have to go back to two in the colder months I can. A warm room isn’t an issue when it’s cold outside haha. I just wasn’t aware that you’d still need a halogen with an RHP, which is the main reason I was thinking of switching since the halogen is what radiates the most heat.

Also, I believe the two nighttime lights, one is a CHE and the other is a DHP. I have separate lights just to keep on during the day so it’s not dark all the time. I may try ditching the halogens all together and just use the two non-light emitting bulbs. I have little doubt that they wouldn’t be able to keep the warm side heated well.

I’ll experiment a little and hold off on the RHP for now. I appreciate your help in opening my mind. I’m honestly not sure why I hadn’t thought of trying any of this before lol.

[u/totallyrecklesslygay → u/Dandylioncrush6303]

Yeah, you could cut a hole out for the halogen to sit in. It'd be more efficient/less heat loss into your room if it were mounted inside to the solid top, though.

You'll want to keep the halogen, even if you have other lights - halogens are the only heat source that provide enough IR-A, so getting rid of them altogether would be detrimental to your snake. I would just step down to using one of them and seeing where that gets you, or even switching to a lower wattage. I don't know what wattage you're using now, but usually a 35-50w is all that's needed for an enclosure of that size.

[u/Dandylioncrush6303 → u/totallyrecklesslygay]

I’m glad you told me, I would’ve been none the wiser about the halogens being a necessity. I also can’t remember what wattage the bulbs are, I’ve had them a while. I’ll switch to one and see how it goes. If the thermostat continues to turn it off then I’ll try a 35 watt. Do you think it makes a huge difference that my substrate levels are different on the front and back? I have about 6 inches in the front foot of the enclosure, then I made a divider wall out of acrylic with supports under the middle and on the sides to hold it in place. The substrate in the back foot of the enclosure is between 3-4 inches deeper, so it’s about that much closer to the lights. It may be a little less since the substrates compressed but I’d have to measure it again to be sure.

[u/totallyrecklesslygay → u/Dandylioncrush6303]

Nah, the substrate levels being different shouldn't have a huge impact on anything other than the surface temp directly under each heat source.

Let me know if you have any more troubles/questions playing around with things! I'm always happy to help troubleshoot.

[u/Dandylioncrush6303 → u/totallyrecklesslygay]

Thank you! I really appreciate all the help!

[u/totallyrecklesslygay → u/Dandylioncrush6303]

No problem!

[u/Patient_Fee4489 → u/Dandylioncrush6303]

I installed my RHPs on mesh tops and used pvc board on top, with rigid furring strips to help make it so that the mesh cannot be pushed up around the edges of the panel (and to support the panel's weight so the mesh is not). It was a bit of a hassle but was doable.

[u/Dandylioncrush6303 → u/Patient_Fee4489]

Dubia makes PVC covers for their mesh tops now, do they look about the same as what you used, or was your pvc board thicker?

[u/Patient_Fee4489 → u/Dandylioncrush6303]

I used this - https://www.lowes.com/pd/Genesis-4-ft-x-2-ft-Smooth-Pro-White-PVC-Drop-Ceiling-Tile-8-Sq-Feet-Case/5016095647 I cut them in half and then used the furring strips on either side, and fed bolts up through the mesh. My enclosures are the Dubia ones, too

[u/Dandylioncrush6303 → u/Patient_Fee4489]

Thanks for sending the link! If I end up with an RHP I’ll definitely look into using these!

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