Decorations

My pad is decorated largely with plastic plants obtained mail order (see Suppliers), but in addition I have two large Tikis to give my pad that faux Polenysian feel.

A climbing ramp made of 3-4" diameter, 6 foot long piece of bamboo (purchased from a gardening supply store) is wrapped with hemp/sisal rope to give footing. Holes are drilled every 6" or so and the rope has a knot tied in it so the loops won't slip down as the rope stretches.

Environmental Controls

To keep my Pad at the temperature and humidity I need there are 4 control devices: 1. Ceramic heater with internal fan and thermostat. 2. Dual heat exhaust fans. 3. Ultrasonic Humidifer. 4. Automated Heat/Humidity control box.

Heater

It took some hunting but I finally found what is I believe the exact heater used in the original Ultimate Iguana Habitat. I got mine at a local hardware store. it's about an 8" square plastic cube with metal grill. Inside is a ceramic heating element, and there's an internal fan that blows air over the heating element. The fan has an internal thermostat as well and runs off 110 volt wall power. It is secured to the ceiling of the enclosure with "plumbers tape", a metal strapping material from the hardware store, and 2 stainless steel wood screws. I used a sharp knife to cut grooves in the plastic rails under the heater for the strapping tape to run in. This is because I'm paranoid about the heater falling, or being pulled off the roof and being a fire (or other) hazard. After the initial install of the heater I noticed that when it went on it generated quite a blast of very hot air that ran right along the upper basking shelf, disturbing me when I was basking. So I added a deflector that sends some of the heat down and to the sides.

Photo (above) of heater install before adding the heat deflector. note unpainted area. Are where heater contacts the ceiling and area in front are unpainted to prevent paint smell from filling habitat. Note that heater blows heat towards the back of the habitat (you can see the window to the left in photo above)

Photo (above) showing simple heat deflector made from thin aluminum "tin" plate. Deflector has edges rounded for Iguana safety and is screwed into top of the plastic housing of heater with very small sheet metal screws, before securing unit to ceiling. Aluminum is used because it doesn't rust like sheet-tin would.

Dual Heat Exhaust Fans

Most of this has been explained earlier in the Fanbox Construction section. The power cords come out of the fanbox and run to the automatic heat/humidity controller, shown here being installed, and after installation:

Fanbox (lower) and controller (upper). Note wiring run in plastic conduit for neatness. (ignore green horizontal line, my camera is buggy.)

Ultrasonic Humidifer

This is shown in a couple earlier photos. You can see the exhaust vent where the fog comes from in the photo above of the fanbox. It fogs the basking area. I'm getting a bit of rust on the metal light fixture which will need to be resanded and re-painted soon, but such is life. See the notes on my choice of humidifier in the Suppliers link

Automated Heat/Humidity Controller

As with the humidifier, this is shown in a couple earlier photos. It attaches to the walls with small wood screws and you plug in the fanbox and humidifer into the standard outlets on the side of this unit. I've blocked up one unused humidifer power outlet on the unit with those child-safety wallplug plugs. See the notes on my choice of controller in the Suppliers link