How am I supposed to heat it?

Can someone suggest what the best way to heat this viv i built. It's 4'x2'x2' I have a heat mat for 30 gal tank and i have 4 clamp lambs currently only using 2 for old 40 breeder tank should i use lamp heating or use the heat mats. I was going to originally use flexwatt heat tape but It's really expensive around here the sides and bottom are made of melamine fiberboard and the back is a 1/4th inch thick piece of plywood. The front is plexiglass. Any ideas would be appreciated.

I think the overwhelming vote around here would be to use the heat mat over heat lamps. One common suggestion that I've seen for wooden vivs is to put the heat mat under a tile. Even a thin piece of stone should work quite well (shale or even slate).

Yup heatmat covering a third of the floor area. Don't forget that you only need to heat the place where the Corn will spend most of its time i.e. at ground level.

Even if you put loads of climbing equipment in, you'll probably find that it has the occasional outing up it, then returns to ground level to warm up.

You'll need the mat inside that particular viv, so install a false floor to keep it clear of stray poop and the risk of short-circuiting. If you cover it with anything like tiles or slate, make sure that the weight isn't resting on the mat surface (to avoid damage) and also that there's airflow over the surface of the mat (to prevent overheating).

Thanks for the good advice guys. the heat mat i have doesnt exactly cover 1/3 of the viv but it comes close only short by a few inches. I hope that is ok. and I was going to put a few small lights inside maybe just a regular house bulb or one of the fancy power saving ones to A) provide light to see inside and B) keep the thermal gradient up. This is a huge cage and I'm not sure if it will hold the heat well from just having a heat mat.

My tanks are 4ft x 18" x 18" and I use heatmats that cover a third of the floor space, without lights and it works well for me. What bitsy said about the false bottom is a great idea

The only thing I would recommend is, if you do decide to add lights, then please, please make sure that they are well guarded, as I've seen what happens when a corn gains access to an unguarded light, and it was not pleasant

Good luck and keep us posted on the final set up

I think you should try a UTH under the viv and see how much heat comes through.
I wasn't getting enough so I replaced part of the bottom.
I don't know if you want to "destroy" your viv bottom, or if there is room under it for this.
I used 3/16" lexan 'cause I had some.
I also used two small heaters because I had one and I didn't want to waste it.
The pic links to more shots if you want.
My viv is 53" long.
(Your post is wi-i-i-i-ide)


he he, I just realized I started 5 sentences in a row with "I" (is that an ego thing?)