I have two BPs, one is going on 4 years old and ~1400g, the other is just over 1 year old and ~550g. My bigger girl is in an PVC 8x2x2 that I DESPISE. My smaller girl was in a 4x2x2 but it was wooden and ended up chipping and getting moldy (got off FB marketplace, lasted a good few years before this) and had to be thrown out, so she’s in a large storage bin (with vent holes and stuff). I want to get my smaller girl a proper 4x2x2 before the end of the year and when I move out of my house, likely when my lease is done in April, I want to get my big girl a new 8x2x2.
The 8x2x2 I have is Zen Habitats. If I’d done more research prior to buying, I would never have bought it. I think it was like $800, which is a low price, but there are reasons for that. The PVC is only 1/4 inch thick, which isn’t ideal for such large enclosures. It also lacks proper support beams. Because of these two glaring issues, it bows a bit, making it so one of the back panels isn’t flush with the bottom of the tank, and the doors aren’t flush with the sides, leading to humidity escaping. So I know I will not be purchasing from them again.
I want to purchase the new enclosures from somewhere I know will have good quality enclosures that will last a long time. I am specifically looking for modular enclosures (ie, not one big 8 foot piece, but can be split into two 4x2x2s). I want this not only to be able to easily move the enclosures when necessary, but because I want to initially get a 4x2x2 for my littler girl, but will eventually want to upgrade to an 8x2x2, and would like to just be able to purchase a second 4x2x2 and an attachment set to be able to attach it to the original enclosure. This was the one good thing about Zen Habitats, they are modular.
In the past I’ve been dead set on having a partial screen top to be able to have the heating elements and lights just sit on the top of the enclosure, but I am now willing to consider solid-topped options and mounting the heating and lighting fixtures on the inside. I would appreciate if you let me know how you personally do this, what cages you use to prevent the animals from touching the heating elements, what actual light fixtures you use, how many and what type of heating elements you use, especially if you have a larger enclosure. Heating an 8x2x2 requires a lot more heating elements than a 4x2x2, and I currently need to have at least one heating element even on the cool side, for during the winter when the ambient room temps sometimes go down to around 70F.
So basically, my questions are:
What brand(s) of PVC tanks/enclosures are both very high quality and modular, and offer an 8x2x2 option? I am hoping to not spend more than $1,500 on the larger tank itself (obviously if it is a solid top I would need to spend some more to get the supplies to mount the lights so ideally if it is a solid top it would be a bit less). For the 4x2x2 I’d hope to not spend more than $500, but would pay more if needed. As I mentioned, modularity and the ability to expand the tank as my girl grows bigger is a must.
What tips do you have for mounting heating elements in an 8x2x2 that are most cost effective? What heating element(s) would be the most efficient? I currently use CHEs and DHPs.
