my bug cabinet + heating question

so this is my bug cabinet. it currently holds all that i have. i recently acquired some free 24oz clear deli cups for free and i poked a ton of holes in them if you can't see. i chose to house my bicolors in them. i keep my most venomous species up top and out of reach.

also, i have about 250 crickets in a 10 gallon aquarium. i recently put a few random containers full of moist coco fiber into them so they would lay eggs and i wouldn't have to deplete my future roach colony. they have laid tons of eggs. i transferred them into a kritter keeper.

my question is: what's the best way to heat each level? or all of them. i recently tried putting a 200w space heater in the bottom with a 120mm fan pushing heat up through (the back has a gap and allows heat to rise up through), but it seems like its overkill. it will bring the bottom to 110F easily. maybe its because my room is always at least 80F if not hotter. maybe i don't even need heat? it does go down to the high 70s at night. that might be perfect.

any input is appreciated.

I'd put in a 50-75 W IR right now somewhere near the bottom and the close the door to trap the heat. In the colder months maybe use a 75-100 to warm up the whole cabinet. If there isn't a door consider a sliding plexiglass plate?

hm. that sounds like it would work. probably wouldn't overheat the roaches either (+100F).

right now i have about a half inch gap behind every shelf in order to let some heat rise up to levels above. a 120mm pc fan is helping to push up the heat. i made sure there were no vibrations being given off into the enclosures because of the scorpions sensitivity to vibrations. i have my gravid LQ sitting on top of a piece of packing foam to absorb any vibrations just in case.

my room temperature is actually 86F right now, but the cabinet somehow manages to be a degree or so cooler than the temp on the other side of the room. so maybe i just need to run heat on days where my room is less than 80-85.

and what do you mean about the plexiglass? the cabinet has doors

Good stuff! Next week i'll get my warehouse rack. Will be great for my two tanks, and possibly more in the future!

Why not install one or two small halogen spots on a few shelves? Great for lighting and they give off a fair amount of heat, which, when the cabinet doors are closed, should raise the ambient temp. quite a bit!

thats a good idea. i might try putting mini dome fixtures in the top rear corner of each level at 1 per level. each would be opposite side of the last one. run the cords out of the back so it looks clean. maybe even thermostats for each level as well. can't afford it now but thats what i'm gonna do

or a cheaper way of doing it would be to heat tape the bottoms. hmm... i think i'll go with that way.

Heat tape in a wooden cabinet? Heat tape is know to cause trouble, even when installed properly by an electrician. Just my two cents.

you're right. i wouldn't want it to burn the house down or anything.

now that i think about it, i have some 50w heat cable. i wonder if it would get hot enough to heat the whole cabinet from the bottom. possibly not because its a cheap cabinet and doesn't seal right. won't hurt to try though. hm...

I didn't click on the pic to zoom in. So close the doors with a low watt IR or ceramic in there and watch  your temp probes. You may even be able to raise the temps with a heat mat. My understanding is they don't burn out as bulbs often do.

I haven't had any issues with my heat tape at all and I installed it myself. It gets hot, yeah, but if you use good insulation and make sure all your electrical ends are closed off, you'll be ok. Just check it from time to time to make sure that you're ok. You can have fires and electrical issue with bulbs and light fixtures, too. I actually have more issues with my lamps getting hot and almost burning things than with my tape.

Oh... I wouldn't put heat tape on the bottom, though. I'd put it on the back of your cabinet on each shelf. You don't want the substrate getting too hot. You want the ambient temp up and the substrate cool so they can burrow out of the heat.

Haha, Kim Jong Stingy! Just noticed it!

 Little guy with a big attitude. Lol.

As long as he's not a commy