Cheapest closed chamber ever

Sticky Feets

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Hi I'm new here. Learned about closed chambers a few days ago so I converted my Hoppy's open air tub setup to a closed chamber today. Basically just a 50 gallon plastic storage bin. I split the lid in half hot dog style so that I can access the inside by pulling off the front half without disturbing the heat lamp. The cord of the lamp is fitted through a slit I made on the other half of the lid so it's fully inside the enclsoure. The setup goes under my reptile rack so it's not hard to mount the lighting with the wire shelf on top. Figured I'd share since this setup literally only cost me $20, for others who are working on a budget. Planning to cut out a side wall and seal it with a clear shower curtain so I can see into it without taking off the front half of the lid. This probably took me an hour to build.

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hatzego

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I’m looking at doing something similar. How are your light fixtures suspended in the enclosure?
 

hatzego

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I’m looking at doing something similar. How are your light fixtures suspended in the enclosure?

Also, how are you heating the enclosure? Is there a CHE in there that I just missed or is the ambient temperature in your room sufficient?
 

Sticky Feets

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I just added a CHE on the other side of the enclosure. I live in Florida and my room gets pretty warm during the day. But it's winter now and we're going through a bit of a cold snap where ambient temps at night drop to 60. I doubt the CHE will turn on much once the weather picks up again. During the day the basking bulb is enough to keep ambient temps up.

The lights are suspended using my metal storage rack. I just looped the cord around one of the wires of the shelf a few times and duct taped it to hold it in place. If I didn't have a wire rack I supposed I'd have to come up with something else to suspend the cords. I saw a pic of a similar tub setup and the guy used a PVC makeshift stand to hang everything on it.
 

hatzego

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I just added a CHE on the other side of the enclosure. I live in Florida and my room gets pretty warm during the day. But it's winter now and we're going through a bit of a cold snap where ambient temps at night drop to 60. I doubt the CHE will turn on much once the weather picks up again. During the day the basking bulb is enough to keep ambient temps up.

The lights are suspended using my metal storage rack. I just looped the cord around one of the wires of the shelf a few times and duct taped it to hold it in place. If I didn't have a wire rack I supposed I'd have to come up with something else to suspend the cords. I saw a pic of a similar tub setup and the guy used a PVC makeshift stand to hang everything on it.

Okay, thanks for the reply. One more question, if you don’t mind. Did you drill any excess holes for ventilation, or does the lid provide sufficient ventilation without sacrificing humidity?
 

Sticky Feets

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I didn't drill any for ventilation. The flimsiness of the lid split in half allows for a little gap even when the halves are put back together cuz they kinda sag a bit. I can even adjust how much gap there is by bending the front half a bit. I read somewhere that just you opening up the lid every day to check on the tort gives enough ventilation. If torts are like my other reptiles I feel confident this is adequate air supply. My snakes only get a tiny crack in their tubs and they're still breathing lol
 

hatzego

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I didn't drill any for ventilation. The flimsiness of the lid split in half allows for a little gap even when the halves are put back together cuz they kinda sag a bit. I can even adjust how much gap there is by bending the front half a bit. I read somewhere that just you opening up the lid every day to check on the tort gives enough ventilation. If torts are like my other reptiles I feel confident this is adequate air supply. My snakes only get a tiny crack in their tubs and they're still breathing lol

Great. Thanks for the help!
 

hatzego

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125 degrees is way to high for a basking temp. It should be around 100-105 ideally.

Right, I attempted to just raise it higher up in the enclosure and get it further away from the substrate so it wouldn’t be so hot, but it didn’t work. Going to have to get a smaller bulb for sure
 

Chizbad

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Alright I’ll be the one to ask, what temperature does it get it there at night without the use of a CHE? I know you say it doesn’t get very cool in your home in Florida but I can’t imagine it being 80 degrees inside... yuck
 

Sticky Feets

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The highest my apartment gets is 74, that's what I have my AC set at. But my room doesn't get a lot of that air flow so it usually gets a little warmer than the rest of my apartment. At night it's probably around 76-78 and the heat stays pretty trapped in the closed chamber. Every time I check on the CHE it's always cold but I have it set to only keep the ambient air up to 80. And the ambient is usually around 82 with just the basking bulb alone. It probably only turns on at night once the basking is off.
 

Sticky Feets

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I just grabbed a 65 watt flood light from Home Depot, Phillips brand. It's what Tom suggested. Keeps my basking spot at 95ish, probably 100 when Hoppy's under it but I havent been able to check off the top of his shell yet
 

hatzego

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I just grabbed a 65 watt flood light from Home Depot, Phillips brand. It's what Tom suggested. Keeps my basking spot at 95ish, probably 100 when Hoppy's under it but I havent been able to check off the top of his shell yet

Perfect. Thanks for the info.
 

LoonyLovegood

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I just added a CHE on the other side of the enclosure. I live in Florida and my room gets pretty warm during the day. But it's winter now and we're going through a bit of a cold snap where ambient temps at night drop to 60. I doubt the CHE will turn on much once the weather picks up again. During the day the basking bulb is enough to keep ambient temps up.

The lights are suspended using my metal storage rack. I just looped the cord around one of the wires of the shelf a few times and duct taped it to hold it in place. If I didn't have a wire rack I supposed I'd have to come up with something else to suspend the cords. I saw a pic of a similar tub setup and the guy used a PVC makeshift stand to hang everything on it.
I know this is an old post, but can I ask what CHE wattage you used? I want to try this set up but concerned about it melting the plastic.
 

Toddrickfl1

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I used one of these xmas tree totes. You can get one at Wal-Mart for about $25Screenshot_2018-07-09-06-27-38-1.png
 

Toddrickfl1

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Thanks Toddrickfl1, and were you able to get all your heating and lighting inside under the lid?
Yes not inside, on top. I cut a circle out of the top for the CHE by taking a knife and heating it up with a blowtorch. Once it's hot it cuts right thru the plastic like butter. You could also heat the knife by using the burner on a gas stove. I must also mention I just used a regular 40 watt incandescent light bulb, my tort goes outside for UVB. You could easily mount a tube light inside though 20180514_174849.jpg
 

LoonyLovegood

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Yes not inside, on top. I cut a circle out of the top for the CHE by taking a knife and heating it up with a blowtorch. Once it's hot it cuts right thru the plastic like butter. You could also heat the knife by using the burner on a gas stove. I must also mention I just used a regular 40 watt incandescent light bulb, my tort goes outside for UVB. You could easily mount a tube light inside though View attachment 245634
Nice thank you! What wattage CHE do you use?
 
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