• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Quick question about heat mat

LBoz

LBoz

Original Curmudgeon
I've gotten yet another heat mat. My corn will only be in his current viv for another week, max, so I'm wondering if I can place the mat with the sticky side down so I can re-place it in the new viv when it's ready? Will it melt the plastic covering on the adhesive? Can a mat be removed once placed (the directions say this voids the warranty as it will ruin the internal wiring if removed). Is there any way to safely place it for just a week so that I can use it permanently on his new home when it's ready?
 
tape it to the tank with aluminum? tape, or attach it to a separate piece of glass that can be set under the tank.
 
well, ive removed my heat mat several times now. and it hasnt seemed to break it or anything, i just slowly and gently peel the heat pad off. but if you've used it for a long time it may not stick the tank as good as a new one. im not using mine anymore because it was getting too hot. i just have a heat lamp and it gets the ground temp to almost 90, flunkers heat lamp.
 
I don't have a seperate piece of glass available, but the aluminum is an interesting thought. But I still need to know if the plastic covering over the adhesive would melt if I plugged it in, AND, will the non sticky side of the mat get hot as well. I'm afraid to plug it in at all at this point to check because I don't want to melt the adhesive covering. Does anyone know if once it's in place, can it be removed and used over again on another viv?

*edit* Thanks salty! We posted at the same time. So you were able to remove it...that's what I needed to know.
 
well, when i removed it and such there may be a risk of it being a ltitle wrecked and heating up more than usual. when you remove it, make sure you remove it very slowly and gently. let it cool down then plug it back in and let it hang off something and then feel it.
when i came home after having it on the bottom of my tank after i moved it from the side. it almost burned my hand if i let my hand sit there longer. i checked my snake and he was fine. but the non sticky part of the heat pad and the sticky part were both really hot. so just checker before you put it on the other tank. mine just might have got hot because my tank is sitting on my dresser with prolly crappy air circulation underneath it. my heat lamp does just as good of a job as my heat pad as well. ive set the thermometer all over my tank and the temps are perfect.
 
What kind of heat lamp do you have? I have one that sits right on the screen, but it doesn't get the substrate warm enough. Maybe I need a higher wattage bulb?
 
ummm. im using a flunkers lamp. ill go look at it better... its 8.5" clamp-lamp. it (rated 150 watts) whatever that means, i dont know lol. i think it uses alot of watts, but its a clamping lamp, but i just set it on my tank. its got an on/off switch.you can use incandecent bulbs or ceramic heat emitters. i dont know what kind of bulb im using though,i dont remember. but ceramic heat emitters usually give you more heat. im just using a bulb.
im using a 20 gallon fish tank
and the heat ratings i got were all on the ground and left for about 5-10 minutes
and i got 87 over the heat lamp area
90 inside the cave over the heat lamp area
75 on the none heat lamp side

but just make sure your snake cant lay directly on the heat pad and it will be all good. cause i dint have a "protective carpet" over my heat pad and it got really hot and coould have burnt him, but he didnt burrow.
 
the thing is about this heat lamp, if your not using it, it says unplug the lamp. but that defeats the purpose of a "convienient" on/off switch.
 
What kind of UTH mat are you using? If the film you mean is the built-in-with-the-whole-thing variety, then it's fine to flip it over. You can duct tape the edges to the bottom of the tank if you like. You may not need to mount it at all, depending on your tank. I have one viv that does fine when it's sitting on the mat and not affixed at all. You could also put something under the mat to hold it to the bottom of the viv, like a plate or other heat-safe object. Styrofoam works, too, but can make the temps in the viv higher than before. It's a good idea to check substrate temps any time you change things, anyhow.

I'm concerned about your 90 temp reading. How is that being measured?
 
There's lots of good info here. The husbandry FAQs are especially helpful for those of us who are new to the hobby. Salty pigeons, how are you measuring your temps? 90 degrees is hot for corns.
 
i dont know. i read that 90 degrees FARENHEIT is fine for corn snakes. but im using a zoo med thermometer that is circular. i leave it sit on the substrate for 5-10 minutes then go and check it. if i had the heat pad on the temp would be even higher like 95 or 100, that would be way to high.
 
Attach the heat mat to a lamp dimmer and you can dial it down to the proper temp. And you really should get a digital thermometer with a probe, as the analog thermometers are not accurate at all.
 
Use aluminum tape, not duct tape. You can find it at Home Depot or wherever in the heating duct section.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top