Slate tile heating

K

Kaoticfury

New Member
Messages
33
Good afternoon all! ive been reading the forums for a while now trying to find an answer to my question, but nothing posted seems to discuss what im looking for. OK, here we go!

I just made the switch to slate tile after much deliberation on a new substrate. reptile carpet just became too unsanitary, and my girl would get her mouth caught on occasion lunging at crickets. i have an under tank heater for my ten gallon zoo med tank with the small zoo med under tank heater. the slate tile is a little more than a quarter inch thick, and honestly if it could have fit in her cage more perfectly, i would have won the nobel prize, haha, no cracks anywhere! I have a tiny layer of sand underneath the slate to make the tiles lay even and help push the heat up through them. Dont worry to all the anti "Sand people" none of it can be reached by her.

So the problem i am having is the slate seems to only get to 90 with her day light on and a digital thermomiter probe on top of the slate that lays on top of the UTH. The tile that is on top of the uth is a good temp to the touch, and from what it reads around average of what it should be, but the tile that is on the colder side doesnt feel warm. This morning i turned on her day light which is over the warm side of her tank, and the night light as well which rests on the colder side. My wife said that the temp probe on the warm side reads 95.8, which is usually the temp i keep it at, and the cold side which has one of those crappy, included in set temperature gauges reads a little under 80 degrees. All in all, is the setup i have with the 2 lights ok? or would it be better to just revert back to the one light over her warm side bringing the colder side down below 70 degrees by a hair on the crappy therm?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! I still consider myself a noob at all this stuff, there always seems to be new things you learn every day, or shifting opinions with each subject. :)
 
Golden Gate Geckos

Golden Gate Geckos

Mean Old Gecko Lady
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12,730
Location
SF Bay Area
A lot of tiles have a waffle-grid on the back which can trap dead air space. Tile is an excellent heat conductor, but the air acts as a insulator. You can use some sand (not as a substrate!) under the tile so those areas where the air is are closed allowing the heat to transfer to through.
 
K

Kaoticfury

New Member
Messages
33
the temperatures were 5 degrees less without the sand. i tried that before i used the sand, because i heard the sand helped with the transferring of heat.
 
Golden Gate Geckos

Golden Gate Geckos

Mean Old Gecko Lady
Messages
12,730
Location
SF Bay Area
If the surface of the warmest spot feel warm to the thouch, then it is probably warmer than body temperature (98.6). Anything below body temp. will feel cooler to the touch. Ideally, you want 90-94 degrees surface temp. where the gecko's belly will be, and normal room temperature in the ambient air and surface of the cool side. Don't worry about air temperature... as long as the gecko can thermoregulate.
 
K

kizzer182

New Member
Messages
100
I use slate tiles I have reptile carpet under it with sand on top then the tile on the sand, I use a 60w red heat lamp during the day which is above the tile about 15 inches away from the floor and at night I use a 75w ceramic heat lamp, my leopards seem fine with this, during the day they sleep in a large hide on the tile and at night they hunt and move about fine, I have a 4ft viv for 2 leos this has 2 slate tiles and the over half is reptile carpet, and in my small 2ft viv I have 1 tile and the other half reptile carpet, temps can reach between 92 and 98. I leave about a 1cm gap at the back and side of the tile and fill this with sand. Hope this help

Mabi put some more insulation under the tile?
 
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