| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| newsnakekeeper |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 00:09:28
I was wondering if any one had read the setup of a vivarium article in the Reptile Care section. They are saying about the heat mats then stat they should never be used inside a setup which reading the article includes wooden vivs as it dosnt say otherwise. If this is the case then surely that advice is wrong as if u put the mat under wooden viv surely it not going to get through the wood.
http://www.888reptiles.co.uk/reptilecare/article_settingupvivarium.php mayb i have missread the article but it defo gives the impression even with wooden vivs no heat mat inside. I will more than likely be wrong. |
| 20 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| animal_crazy_lady |
Posted - 27/03/2010 : 21:11:27
confused.com lol |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 26/03/2010 : 13:01:24
The substrate in the warm side in my fauns is around 5-7mm deep. If you have it deep enough for them to burrow in properly then the heatmat would get much hotter than the top level of substrate and if the snake did burrow the i could get burned on the mat.
I found that if my probe was ont he mat which in my case is outside the faun my temperatures fluctuated alot because the plastic on the faun kept the heat longer than the heatmat, so i actually have mine in the faun stuck down with a sticky label, but i have done it so it is folded over on itself and absolutely no adhesive is exposed. I was wary about doing this but new i had to do something so i just tested it out and it was fine. |
| ari |
Posted - 26/03/2010 : 12:09:24
ah interesting. ive always kept my substrate even throughout. about an inch or two. next clean ill try that method. thanks for the tip! |
| Kellog |
Posted - 26/03/2010 : 04:49:31
quote:
Originally posted by DannyBrown91
quote:
Originally posted by ari
i suppose in that case get a good thermostat that regulates temp very accurately. mystery once moved his prob and sent my temps up to the 40s. that would have burnt him had he been on the mat itself. ideally one with an alarm feature?
Many people seal there stat probe to the heatmat to stop this from happening. If left sitting on or under a bit of substrate a snake will easily knock it out of the way, i have also found that without a bit of weight on them the probes just pop up anyway.
I had this happen with Silvesta....his probe was weighed down with his bark hide and some pebbles, but because he has been burrowing so much he managed to dislodge everything and I found the probe pointing sky high and the thermometer reading 31oC. Can have only happened in time I was out of room, which was about half an hour....but am so glad I caught it. Both thermostat probe and thermometer probe are now weighed down with a stone surrounded by pebbles, which he cannot move.
I do have concerns about sealing the probe down in case there are problems (no idea what, but probably me just being paranoid and not wanting it somewhere permanently glued down  )
Probes should be substrate level Ari, but most of us only put a small sprinkling of substrate over our mats and then deepen it to burrowing level in the cooler end....so the probe is actually resting on the mat.
xxx |
| ari |
Posted - 25/03/2010 : 21:51:07
hmm, ive always read that the probs should be substrate level to ensure the right heat rises up through the substrate. |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 25/03/2010 : 14:45:02
quote:
Originally posted by ari
i suppose in that case get a good thermostat that regulates temp very accurately. mystery once moved his prob and sent my temps up to the 40s. that would have burnt him had he been on the mat itself. ideally one with an alarm feature?
Many people seal there stat probe to the heatmat to stop this from happening. If left sitting on or under a bit of substrate a snake will easily knock it out of the way, i have also found that without a bit of weight on them the probes just pop up anyway. |
| ari |
Posted - 25/03/2010 : 14:36:32
i suppose in that case get a good thermostat that regulates temp very accurately. mystery once moved his prob and sent my temps up to the 40s. that would have burnt him had he been on the mat itself. ideally one with an alarm feature? |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 25/03/2010 : 12:50:28
Then it shouldn't do any harm to your snake if he does touch it. After all the lino must heat up to the same temp as the heat mat anyway. |
| newsnakekeeper |
Posted - 25/03/2010 : 11:59:31
Danny yeah heat mat is stated and running at bout 30C
|
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 22:27:55
But that said it does say that there should be room for airflow when using them heat mats and the heat had to penetrate through glass and substrate whether it is stated or not it will need to get to a high temp to do so, but when in a viv the temp of the heatmat dosn't need to get as high because the heat only has a thin layer of substrate to penetrate. |
| ari |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 21:57:17
saying that though, my exo terra heat mat just burn a hole into its protective outer casing, exposing the heat strips. now if that where to come into contain with your snake itll sure cause some damage. luckly mine is a glas viv and is outside (being replaced). so always be careful when using them in vivs. keep an eye on it every so often. |
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 20:26:46
Yer that would be fine, too be honest aslong as your heat mat is statted and at the right temperature it dosn't need to be covered as even if snakey touches it, it won't burn him. |
| newsnakekeeper |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 18:57:57
Yeah danny the tile has a strip over the tape that is not sticky so was thinking that would be ok to put over heat mat and would have no probs to get to heat mat would just put hide on top of it
|
| DannyBrown91 |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 12:48:13
It could be but it would be better to use a non sticky lino or something similar and maybe seal it down or hold it down with a hide or something, that way it is easier to get at the heatmat if you need to. |
| newsnakekeeper |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 12:06:34
i was just wondering could a self adhesive tile be put over heat mat but leave the tape on the bottom of it so that the none sticky part of tape is on top of heat mat.
sorry if this sounds confussing |
| Kellog |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 10:26:21
One point about the lino is that it does get the substrate pushed under the edge if your snake burrows a lot (as I have discovered with Silvesta), so have had to weigh it down on either side with a rock to stop the substrate being pushed under and when it is pushed under it lifts the lino worrying me that Silvesta will get under it. Kellog's heatmat is covered with something like plyboard (OH did it and I know nothing about wood!) and that works really well, allowing the heat through without the worry.
xxx |
| n/a |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 08:30:46
just take the bit from under the washer or fridge  lol
nahh just nip down the local carpet shop theyll have some off cuts they are throwing away
paul |
| n/a |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 07:33:02
me thinks lino would be a good idea for in my viv.
Now where can i get some off cuts. my mum is on holiday so i could butcher the kitchen floor but i reckon she would fly back just to kill me!:) |
| Kellog |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 04:55:56
I know that my heatmat says that it should only be used under glass vivs yet I know many forum members use the same heatmat within their wooden vivs (and it was from one of these members that I took that advice to get it....so any problems I know who to blame!). I do take the precaution of covering my heatmats with lino so the snake cannot come into direct contact with them.
It does make me query their advice though, this is the 1st time I have read that article and they seem to be trying to guide you more towards heat bulbs rather than mats....which surely flies in the knowledge that corn snakes, in particular, absorb most of their heat from the substrate so a heat bulb is not the best option? Although you do have to remember that they are talking about all reps in this article, which to me makes it useless as different reps require totally different environments??
xxx |
| Kehhlyr |
Posted - 24/03/2010 : 02:02:35
The heat will eventually get through the wood, but it takes forever, literally.
They say not to use them with wooden vivs, but they also say that they can be used with melamine vivs.
Strange that they say they can and can't be used with them.  |
