| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| alib |
Posted - 13/01/2013 : 18:10:23
Hello,
just want to get a rough idea what most people use and find out what's best for me... looking at upgradining to a bigger viv, not yet got plenty of time but just getting ideas for now. any way was thinking about heating and the best way to do it and having read alot on heating options i am struggling to make up my mind. i am looking at getting the Vivexotic Viva Terrestrial Vivarium large (i guess this will be fine for life for an adult corn?) any way i can't decide if i am going for a heat mat or Ceramic heater. whats people views? i have never had an experiance with ceramic as i only use a heat matt now.
thanks in advanced and any suggestion would be great. cheers. |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Jarvo |
Posted - 18/02/2013 : 09:48:22
I have just moved my snakes downstairs(the wife was not happy with the boa crashing around at night now that he is getting bigger) the temp in the cool side dropped to 15C in my corns viv.As it is alot colder downstairs I have just bought the gear to fit a ceramic(guarded) so that his temps throughout the viv will be better.
At the end of the day it is what is better for the snake and how cold your room is at night. |
| smart bunny |
Posted - 16/02/2013 : 09:04:18
The polystyrene only goes under the mat if it is underneath a glass viv or plastic faun/RUB etc. In a wooden viv the mat just goes on the floor inside the viv. I use mats as I didn't want to mess about with bulbs and guards and fitting etc, so basically I'm lazy!
I do put just a sprinkling of substrate over the mat, but it always gets pushed away by the snakes anyway so there is a nice area of uncovered mat under the hide, and just a little bit covering the surface of it outside the hide so everything looks nice! |
| Slinkey23 |
Posted - 16/02/2013 : 07:55:37
Im currently building my viv, i put my heatmat inside the viv on the floor, cut some 4mm plywood to the exact size of the viv and then raised it 1cm off the bottom, popped the temp probe in last night and its getting upto the right temps so all good! I think the polysterine tiles are put underneath the mat to insulate it and keep the heat in but not used them yet myself. In my personal opinion i would go for a matt over bulb, the bulb may heat the contents like the sun would in the wild but if you change the viv layout around/ do a cleanout, it will take some time to get it back upto temp! This is just my opinion im sure someone with more experience can point you in the right direction  |
| alib |
Posted - 16/02/2013 : 00:14:24
Still can't decide.. Been looking at both and now I think I might go for the heat mat seems like the easier option and makes the Viv look more smart. Does any 1 cover the matt? I thought they needed an air gap but hear people put tiles on them? Cheers
|
| alib |
Posted - 14/01/2013 : 19:52:31
thanks for all the feed back... still not sure what to do i guess i will decide closer to the time. not to worried about getting new stuff as i can use the heat mat and stat i got now for the hognose i am planning to get haha |
| herriotfan |
Posted - 13/01/2013 : 21:35:56
I use a guarded bulb with a habistat dimming thermostat. When I got my first snake I did a lot of research and decided I prefered the bulb to the heat mat. My theory being that the sun warms the earth from above so a bulb would do the same job. Also, my first snake was already being housed in a viv with a bulb. Simple as that.
If you already have a heat mat and stat it may be more cost efficient for you to stick with a heat mat.
There really isn't a better way, it's all a matter of what suits you and general opinions. |
| Georgina |
Posted - 13/01/2013 : 21:09:32
Mars for me :) |
| lupi lou |
Posted - 13/01/2013 : 21:03:23
I've got heat mats in my vivs (lx36). They are easy to fit in the viv and don't need any special fixtures. |
| Moppet |
Posted - 13/01/2013 : 18:19:12
I have four vivexotic lx36, but they don't do those anymore. I use mats on my adult vivs, it's safer and easier than ceramics imho.
The Large Viva is bigger than the vivexotic lx36 so would be more than adequate for even a large adult corn snake. The medium one is only a little smaller than the old lx36s. |
