Suggestions for belly heat?

[acharpenter]

Hello all - new to the forum and I am finding a ton of excellent information and help.

I have looked around quite a bit and although there is lots of information on this question - I am finding many conflicting answers/opinions with regards to the tank I am looking at setting up and how to best provide belly heat for my Gecko.

This is the tank:

Wooden enclosure, hinged drop-down door, painted inside (will be creating my own rock walls later), melamine floor, light fixture 32" x 18" high x 18.5", ventilation holes - about 46 gallons total.

It will sit on 2 of these stands placed back to back (stand footprints are 30" x 12" each):

I will be running a red bulb in the fixture enclosed within the tank on the left for spot lighting/heating a stone for belly heat (and night time viewing). I still need an actual belly heat apparatus in the tank set up of some sort.

I would like to have reptile carpet on the floor of it as I really like the look of it. I may also place a few large peices of slate along the floor in areas....

I am not afraid of DIY idea's...

I am leaning away from tile as I just dont think it looks all that natural IMHO.

Considering the melamine floor and the fact that the tank is enclosed - what do you suggest as the best way to go about incorporating belly heat in this set up? UTH, some sort of heat pad etc inside the tank outside the tank???

Or do I go with a completely different tank style? :main_huh:

Huge thanks for any help - I have been researching for hours and decided to ask the experts!

 

[Dog Shrink]

The only way I can think of to incorporate belly heat is going to involve the use of ceramic/porcelain or slate tiles. You're going to beed to lay down an 18x18 or 12x12 ceramic tile on the floor of the tank, get a uth like a cobra that doesn't come with adhesive and sandwich it between 2 pieces of tile. Use the 1 inch square tiles to act as spacers between the tiles to allow for air movement. The cobra heat mats are moisture resistant so they can be used inside a tank. This is what I'm doing for my son's ball python's tank.

 

[acharpenter]

Well now!

Dog Shrink I knew I would meet you sooner or later as after all my research and lurking on the forums I see ya all over helping everyone - just didnt think it would be this soon!

Thank you for taking the time to read my concerns and voice your thoughts.

I just cannot stand the tile - just not my thing...

So - I guess I will go with what I have now (29g glass Critter Cage) see what I can do with it

I kinda figured the melamine bottom would cause some issues - was hoping for a solution.....ah well

Thanks for chiming in Lady!

 

[Dog Shrink]

Well thank you I'm slightly embarrassed I have a good friend that calls me "lady" all the time

Just so you know tho... when using the ceramic tiles it's purpose is moreso to make an elevated floor in the melamine tank rather than to be used as decor. Once you have 2 or 3 layers of the ceramic tiles(remember to seperate each layer with 1x1 tiles on all 4 corners so it looks like a parking garage only skinnier) you can put the uth in between layer 2 and 3 then cover the entire thing with whatever substrait you prefer. I would suggest a nice bark chip maybe... altho it really isn't the natural substrait leos are found in. Melamine worries me when being used in a heating application since melamine resin is manufactured by mixing melamine with formaldehyde, and sometimes urea. Ewww. I know it is stated it is fire resistant andheat tolerant but in the cheaper veneer stuff just what is the heat tolerance? More info on melamine: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-melamine.htm

If you want once I get in my son's pall python's new uth and put this together myself I can post a pic of it so you can see how it looks. I plan on covering part of the floor with the uth in something like jungle bedding.