Tips re heat mat

[Captain Firecat]

Hi all

Enquiries are proceeding as to the temperature of my room, but assuming I need to add heating:
How on earth do you heat a low tank?!? The guiding wisdom seems to be that the mat has to go on the side as the spider might burrow to cool and instead be moving closer to the mat under the tank.

So the side/back, great, except every mat I own and every one I've seen are taller than my tank (6 inch high). Best I can think is that I make it so it hangs over the back of the cupboard it is on, so the 'spare' bit is below the ground level.

I'm sure the answer is obvious, but I'm not seeing it...

 

[Josh]

How much heat are you thinking you need to add? Would a light of some kind help? How big is the enclosure?

 

[FaaFaa]

I would just stick the mat on the back and any over hang that you have would be no big deal. A heat mat will not increase your temps much at all. If you need to go higher than 10*F (sorry if your C instead) I would suggest a red low watt light bulb. You want to use red because it is a range of color that will not bother your T. However, please please please be careful of how dry things get. The heat from the light will dry things out, including your T. A ceramic heat emitter would also do the trick.

 

[Captain Firecat]

How much heat are you thinking you need to add? Would a light of some kind help? How big is the enclosure?

18' x 12' x 6'. I'm thinking of getting a Pink Zebra Beauty which means 23 - 26C (75-80F). I left our max/min thermometer in the 'spider room' last night (I reckon that is as cold as it is going to get in there as last night was chilly!) and it dropped to 10C (50F), so I definetely need heating of some sort for any spider I get!

The room normally sits in the early 20's during the day (either due to heating or weather), so even then a little heat wouldn't go amiss!

Am I clutching at straws and the temperature is too low to start with?

 

[NYX]

I use a small oscillating fan heater for my T room with a humidifier. Seems to the trick. In my experience with heat mats ( I also keep reptiles) you need thermostats to keep them at the temperature you want and it is more difficult to keep a gradient temperature in smaller enclosures. A heat mat can get up to 100 degrees plus unchecked so if you do go with heat mats please use a thermostat control with it. Also they do come in Different sizes and you can also look at heat tape.

 

[Captain Firecat]

I have snakes (hence the surplus of large mats!) but they are in huge tanks, so if they get warm they can go down the cool end; so I've never really thought about the effect it would have on a small enclosure...

I will get one with a thermostat then, I'll swing by a pet shop with a reptile section on the way home.

#Edit#
Swung by and they had one (Microclimate Ministat 100). I decided I could do better price wise online, but now I see only just! I'll order one and a tiny heatmat (now I know they exist I've found loads... Lol).

In the meantime I have stuck a spare huge heatmat under the tank to see how hot it gets (as in, if it was still very low I'd need to have a plan b), but the temp is now well into the 20s, and it's currently snowing!

So in theory I can get the required heat, even in winter, now I just need to put a limit on it for when it's not as cold/we gave the heating on longer!