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Tony1983
Snake Mite
41 Posts |
 Posted - 03/11/2013 : 00:55:26
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Hi Guys.
For the last 2 months or so (since i got my first 2 corns). I have had my heat mat placed underneath the wood of the vi on the desired hot end.
The temps are regulated by a mat stat of course :) I have read various articles, some have there's underneath like i do. A lot seem to have the mats inside.
My question is: does it really matter? I mean if my probe is regulating the heat does it matter if its in teh tank or under it? I Know wood is a poor conductor of heat, so heat doesnt really travel well on wood.
SHould i bring my mat inside of the tank?
Thanks,
Tony
Moved to appropriate section by Kellog
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Edited by - Kellog on 04/11/2013 10:04:38 |
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Tony1983
Snake Mite
41 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 00:57:53
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Also i read stuff about thermal hotspots which i didnt really understand, and that some ppl stated when mat is inside of the tank that there should only be around a centermeter of substrate ontop of the mat, to prevent heat blockages, Hope some more experienced keepers can shed some light :)
Its worth pointing out at this stage that the 2 snakes both eat, shed and poop fine as things are now |
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smart bunny
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
5091 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 07:52:56
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It should definitely be on the inside - being able to get the temps inside to what the corns need through a lump of wood means it must be horrendously hot on the outside where the mat is, and is a real fire hazard! (Not to mention a huge waste of electricity and therefore money!)
I only have a very thin scattering of substrate over the heat mat in my vivs (less than 1cm) because that is indeed an issue you need to be careful of - too much substrate will end up with it getting too warm. |
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Coal
Hatchling
449 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 08:52:04
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| Basically I agree totally with Smart Bunny: If you have a wooden-bottomed viv, the mat needs to be inside. I also only have a thin scattering of substrate on top of it, and my boy often pushes the whole lot off anyway :P |
'Lovecraft' - CB12 male amel
'Sarnath' - CB13 male KSB (anery, het. albino) |
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Razee
Fully Grown Corn
United Kingdom
2525 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 10:09:51
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I can understand your concerns re mat in the Viv, and hotspots. I worry about the same thing, and would like to come up with some solution - something like Monkfield vivs, where the mat is under t he glass, and not in contact with snake.
I've seen quite a good solution somewhere ( can't remember where, though ). It was a heatmat, glued to a slightly bigger piece of glass. You put the class in the Viv ( mat underneath ) and raise the glass on something, just a tiny bit, couple of millimetres, to allow tiny air gap. Then you can put any hide, even heavy one, on the glass - no hot spots.
Unfortunately, my mats are all glued to the vivs now, but I'm thinking about putting a very slightly raised sheet of glass over them . I read somewhere that someone put a rubber rim on the glass, which raised the glass just a tiny bit, and stopped any fluids getting to the mat. Might be the way to go...
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0.1.0 late CB10 Carolina corn snake - Bazilishka
1.0.0 CB11 Abbots Okeetee- Little Twiddler
1.0.0 CB11 Hypo corn- Sebastianek
1.0.0. CB14 Butter Motley - Squidwood
0.0.2 CB18 normal/ Okeetee yearlings Bunny and Lalalishka
0.0.1 hognose
0.1.0 stable cat
0.1.0 house cat |
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Tony1983
Snake Mite
41 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 10:49:08
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Hi guys,
Thanks for the replies. I won't have time to change anything until tomorrow afternoon due to work.
Like I said they seem happy enough, but if its for the best i can of course move it inside of the tank tomorrow after work.
I'm not sure i like the idea of the snakes been able to sit right on the mat with only a slither of aspen over the top. Or the idea of the snakes been able to poop right onto the mat :)
I suppose it works out cheaper to have the mat in the tank (which doesn't bother me). But never imagined it being a fire issue.
There does seem to be one plus in having it in the tank though. Aand that is that i can tie the probes direct to the mat.
Still so unsure of all of this and have many reservations.
My corns lay both on top of the aspen and below it also (on the wood) which would mean if they went under the aspen they'd be directly on the mat, I mean i do have some old slate tiles from lizards, But they get crazy hot and i would imagine they also hold the heat in too well, They would also probably make getting accurate temps right, as even once the stat clicks off, they tend to continue to get hotter for a few degrees.
As Im sure you can see, Ive given this much thought :)
Tony |
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gmac
The Scottish Admin
United Kingdom
5319 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 12:34:14
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| thermal hotspots (thermal blocking) only comes into play with large bodied snakes, corns dont have enough weight in them to cause this issue. I have yet to hear of any thermal blocking issues with corns. Larger bodied snakes yes though which for larger bodied snakes a light is the way to go. |
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Tony1983
Snake Mite
41 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 12:36:49
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So you guys all agree that moving the mat into the tank will be better? Like i said I wont have time to do this until around 6pm tomorrow. But if the consensus is that its better/safer inside ill move it tomorrow and do a general cleaning of the tank :)
T |
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SilverWings
Yearling
United Kingdom
740 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 16:04:38
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Re fire hazard;
My friend was told by a pet shop to put the mat underneath the wooden viv. The bottom of the viv had to be replaced, and it also burned through the carpet underneath, and into the floorboards. Her royal was very lucky not to be hurt, and she was very lucky the wood didn't catch fire o.O |
2.2.3 Corn snakes; Red, Rosie, Liana, Checkers, Luna, Diego, Snowman
1.0 Taiwanese Beauty Snake; Aleron
1.0 Green Anoles; Doug
1.0 Greyhound; Lee |
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Vince_the_snake
Yearling
United Kingdom
553 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 16:12:24
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| I only recently moved the mat inside the viv, very happy with my decision now! |
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Charles
Hatchling
United Kingdom
229 Posts |
Posted - 03/11/2013 : 16:39:07
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| i will be soon putting photos of Rosie's new viv up. I really like the Monkfield vids where they have a glass panel to put the mat under. Inspired by this and other posts on this forum I have put wall tiles on the heat mat and glued the thermostat and temp probe to one of the tiles |
1.1.0 Jim Caramel Tessera, Rosie Motley
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Topic |
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Heat mat placement, wooden viv :)
