Cork/Polystyrene Sheet

Hi all,
After reading my heat mat instructions it suggests to put a polystyrene sheet underneath the tank to avoid heat loss from the heat mat from underneath. But, having read in many other places, it suggests having a thin 'air gap' between the glass and surface to allow air flow. Surely if I put a polystyrene sheet under the tank it will cut out all air flow and potentially cause a crack in the glass? At the minute my heat mat is attached to the underneath of the glass, and the 4 corners of the tank have small feet on allowing an air gap. Anyone got a preference on how they do it? I at going to the pet shop tomorrow to choose my snake, and collect it on tuesday! getting excited now!

A regulated heatmat wouldn't crack the glass unless your thermostat failed

diamondlil said:

A regulated heatmat wouldn't crack the glass unless your thermostat failed

Click to expand...

So would you recommend putting a polystyrene sheet under or just do with out?

Can anyone help me with this? Im going to choose my snake later today, and will be collecting it tomorrow. I just need to know if you should put something between the base on the glass/heat mat, and the surface it sits on. Does this matter? As in, if its directly on a piece of wooden furniture, will it damage the wood? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

when useing a UTH you should also use a regulator for it so that it doesnt get too hot... as in the snake getting on the glass right above the heater and getting burned.. substrate doesnt matter... most corns will dig themselves under it so you need to think about how hot that glass is above the uth... as for a uth hurting a surface it is against... ie: wood or what ever else it may be resting on under the tank and heater... yes it will damage surfaces.... It should have that printed right on the heater box.... That help any??

Its does help thankyou, but what could i put underneath the mat to protect whatever surface the tank sits on? Have you heard of using polystyrene or something before? Does that not restrict the airflow?

on that I cant help you I dont use uth's on my snake tanks.. but I know alot of the ppl who come here do use them and I read so I know abit about it is all... and I did look into them so I did read that too but as for what you can use to protect the surface... I have no idea..sorry

CornNoobie said:

Its does help thankyou, but what could i put underneath the mat to protect whatever surface the tank sits on? Have you heard of using polystyrene or something before? Does that not restrict the airflow?

Click to expand...

Honestly, there's very little need to add any sort of sheet -- polystyrene or no.

My heat mats produce WAY more than enough heat; even on a Rheostat. You'll have far more problems by the reduced amount of airflow the polystyrene sheet would cause.

Slap your heat mat on the bottom of your tank, attach a thermo/rheo stat, and enjoy your snake.

What I currently use, with good success, is a piece of 3/16 inch form core board, cut slightly larger than my heat mat. I place this on the table first and then put the heat mat on it. The form core board is available at Office Depot, Office Max, Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, etc.

With the rubber feet I have on my enclosure, this setup gives me about a 1/4 to 3/8 inch gap between the heat mat and the bottom of me tank.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Regards,
Steve