A little scare

[gregmonsta]

Ever since putting the girls in tubs for separation purposes I've found myself adjusting the temps almost every two days although everything was running well at that.
I got a scare this morning when I saw that the hotspot had hit 41C . Thankfully I observed sensible behaviour displayed by my gravid girls. Suzy was simply cruising about while Fawn had the majority of her body stretched towards the cool end with her head in the 'danger zone'.
The tubs are on a mat that is statted directly (ie sensor in direct contact with the mat.
A quick investigation has led me to deduce that the tubs were causing thermal blocking as the mat was hotter to the touch where the tubs were - whereas the free areas on the mat were at the perfect temp.
I tried two options:
1) creating an increased air gap between tub and mat
2) covering the sensor with cardboard to simulate the correct temperature experience when covered.
Option two has produced the best result. Temps are steady once again.
Fingers crossed no damage has been done and the girls did their job of thermoregulating as I observed.

Note - temps were always steady before but the majority of the tubs were empty and the occupied enclosure were spaced quite far apart. Having fully loaded tubs appears to have caused this issue, as I do like a thick (1 inch+) layer of substrate.

[Stefan-A]

I've found that the mats work best with as little substrate as possible and a 5mm gap between the mat and the bottom of the tub. Paper is pretty much ideal in those cases.


I'd really like to get my hands on a heat panel, just to test how well they work in my plastic enclosures, i.e. how high the ambient temperature gets. Sadly, not one model is sold in this country.

[guidofatherof5]

Nice job noticing the problem.
Hoping all is well with the girls.
Keep us posted mate.

[ConcinusMan]

I've found that the mats work best with as little substrate as possible and a 5mm gap between the mat and the bottom of the tub.

Same here. I never stick them on the glass. I elevate the tank enough so that it will slide under and still have a gap. Otherwise the dang things get too hot.

I never have to worry about that using my hydrofarm seedling heat mat though. It's always the perfect temperature even if I set the tank right on it. Dang reptile heat mats just get too darn hot.

[Stefan-A]

Tried looking for seedling mats, but the ones I found were all too damn big. I mean, I could heat a greenhouse with the smallest ones I found.

Besides, I've found that I can't have a decent layer of substrate with mats, which is pretty much my only complaint. Bark, husk, moss etc. are just too effective as insulation.

[ConcinusMan]

I find it works OK with about an inch of bark/coconut fiber. The original reason I got the seedling heat mat is because it's big and was only $30. I needed to heat one end of several shoebox tubs. It's just the right amount of heat for that. The reptile mats are too hot and would cost me nearly $25 for the smallest size.

Yes, the one I have is big. Big enough to heat the entire bottom of a 20 gallon long but like I said it doesn't get very hot. Mainly I'm using it like that to provide a little heat at night for babies. It's on all the time but during the day, I have a 60 watt incandescent bulb over one end, in addition to the heat mat. That brings the surface of the substrate up to around 31 C. The remainder of the bottom, on top of the substrate stays around 23 C.

So yeah, I'm using it as a supplement rather than an exclusive source of heat. It's just right for this application and an inch of substrate and like I said, for tubs sitting directly on it with paper towel substrate, the temperature is just right without getting too hot.