mats, bulbs and glass vivs

[scrambled legs]

hi all,

i'm new here and i just rehomed a pair of fat tails of about 5 years old. i know that they were originally w/c, i have one of each sex.

my questions are basically how does everyone heat their glass vivs?

i have exo terras for my rhacs and they have heat from above on a dimmer. for the fat tails i used a mat on a stat until i realised that it wasn't powerful enough. it was far too cool for them.
i can't reach the heat i want with a mat because the viv is glass and is bad at holding heat. so now i've got a bulb on a dimmer and that heats well but if anyone can help me with other heating ideas i'd be really grateful.

the exo terra is 45cm x 45cm but not the taller one.

ask me anything you like and i'll try and help.

cheers,

Neil.

 

[HepCatMoe]

i just use an undertank heating mat and it works perfectly well. dont forget with the fatties your going for belly heat, not air heat.

how were you measuring the heat when you were using a heat mat? how are you measuing the heat now? (what is the placement of the thermometer?)

also, what temps are you going for on the hot side/cool side? 80-90 F on the hotside is fine.

 

[scrambled legs]

hi, thanks for answering, to measure the temps in the enclosure, i use a laser thermometer. i know belly heat is better than heat from above but with the mat that i was using, it barely got to 22c in the hotspot. the bulb is just my guarantee of heat. my house is a few hundred years old, heated only by a woodburner in the kitchen so the overall temps downstairs are cool. i could use a bigger mat but it would heat more of the viv up and lose some of the cooler part.

would a pulse stat ensure a better chance of heat?

thanks again.

Neil.

 

[acpart]

you may be able to raise the heat by taping some aluminum foil below the UTH (so you have the glass bottom, then the UTH, then the aluminum foil. That has worked for me.

Aliza

 

[scrambled legs]

sounds good, i've got 1mm thick aluminium sheeting which i use for various tortoise things, .. i could try that, i have tried using polystarine sheets (i'm not sure what you call it in the us) i taped the mat above the white sheet then the glass was above but it didn't make much difference. my last try was to put the mat in the viv at the bottom but after unsatisfactory heat again, and not being comfortable with this, i resorted to infrared bulbs.
is there any problems with using bulbs? the gex seem to be doing fine but they didn't eat or do a thing when the mats were there.

my only trouble with the bulb is that its really difficult to get a thermal gradient with the 70w bulb that i use.

thanks.

Neil.

 

[HepCatMoe]

sounds like probably the mat you have is just too weak. 22c isnt too bad, but definately not what you want if you can help it. i use the zoomed 10-20 gallon size and it works perfect, i have a 20 gallon long. obviously how cold your house is can affect the heat, but unless your house is literally freezing, one heat mat should work to get the hot spot up to around 95F.

perhaps the trouble is the substrate you are using.

for example dry peat moss or bark chips does not transmit heat at all. in fact it works as an insulater to keep the heat out.

on the other hand moist peat moss will transmit heat, a little counter-intuitive but true. also is you just use paper towels the fatties can basically put their bellies right on the hot glass. mine seem to love it. slate works to transmit heat well also.

there is no problem using bulbs, but you definatley need that gradient, and from my experience mats heat up the bottom of a tank much better than bulbs.

on the fatties behaviour, i wouldnt expect the fatties to be out and about too much. mine pretty much never are, or if they are out, as soon as i come in the room they go for the hide.

this time of year they also start to brumate. mine have food available at all times, and belly heat at about 90, but still havent eaten for a couple weeks. theyll liven up in a bit thought, and then its time to start makin babies.

keep in mind brumation can be induced by reduced light, a drop in temperature, a drop in moisture, or a drop in food.

if you brought your little dudes home and they experienced a drop in temp from their old home to the new one, that might have started them brumating right then.

 

[acpart]

If you are using peat moss, or some other crumbly substrate a few inches deep, you can always bury the hides like a burrow so they get closer to the heat source when they go into them. I have a planted tank for my AFT's with eco earth and their hides are ceramic with a ceramic bottom, so I can partially bury them in the substrate.

Aliza

 

[scrambled legs]

thats some great info there, i'm using orchard bark but sounds like i need a change.

in an 18 by 18 inch exo terra, i'm sure you know the one i mean, i was using a mat that was 11 inches square but i have one that will cover half of the enclosure.

since the gex seem to be eating and doing ok with the bulb, i'll get a pulse stat when i've got the spare cash and will re-set up a mat in the enclosure.

i know what you mean about the brumation, out of the 16 tortoises i have, four are leopard torts and they've already turned into their grumpy winter alter-egos!

when i picked up the gex to take home, they were in a custom made brick viv with a single pane of glass at the front and a wooden black back wall with a outwards door on. it was nice but imagine how hot it would have been. brick is a great insulator so from leaving that to my ancient farmhouse, these gex are probably freezing in my living room~!

watch this space for now, with xmas coming and everything, i'll get my pulse stat whenever i can and i'll re post with fat tail pad version 3!

thanks for your replies,

Neil. :main_thumbsup: