heat source

[alfiebass34]

Hi all,

Ive been told by a few people that if you use a heat source for your encloser it is best to use a half/half method meaning half the encloser is heated as apossed to the external heat mat going the full length of the viv. How true is this as i have also read that the method of covering the whole area with the mat is the way foward? any sugestion

 

[Londoner]

Not sure what you mean, but if you're gonna use a heatmat, stick it on the side of the tank so the T can move away from the heat if it needs to. The problem with putting it under the tank is many Ts will instinctively burrow down to escape heat, which could result in a "cooked" T .

 

[Thompson08]

Just get a space heater for your room. And I agree if you're using a heat mat put it on the side of the enclosure(I would also get a thermometer so you can record the temps in the cage just incase they get to hot)

 

[robd]

I second this. It's undoubtedly the best way to do it. You can get an oil filled radiator on Amazon I believe for at or around $50. That's how much mine was and the shipping was free.

When it comes to T's I don't believe heat mats are good for anything other than, if you wanted some extra heat to fast-forward your slings to become juvies, I use a 10 gallon with the front busted out for ventilation and put a heat mat on the backside of the tank. Yields good results so far. Ups the temps from like 80-82 to near 90.

 

[cacoseraph]

all heat mats are different. an old, cheap, busted up one is worlds different from a modern solution with short circuit protection built in


also, if the OP's room is getting down to 50*F or lower and he is going to use a low wattage mat, then putting on the side will do almost nothing. putting it on the side is not the answer 100% of the time, despite what one might have heard from the rest of the flock


and finally

space heaters are only even remotely efficient when you have many bugs to heat up or already want to heat up a room. i would guesstimate they consume somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-1000x the power and resources that a singleton heating solution requires.

 

[robd]

Singleton eh? That's a funny word.

It works great for me because my T room is halfway in my basement (house is on a hill). It's really most important for the fall and winter here in TN cause it's in the low 60's on the regular. It's not so bad on the electric bill.

For awhile I was on this kick thinking that if I set my thermostat at like 75 and closed all of the vents everywhere except for the one that goes into the T room, then it would comfortably heat the rest of the house and heat the T room even higher than 75.

Well I was right about the second part, but it was constantly too hot everywhere else. I don't know what the heck I was thinking, but in retrospect if anyone was ever thinking of doing that take it from me it's a bad idea.

 

[DoucheBgalo]

space heaters are only even remotely efficient when you have many bugs to heat up or already want to heat up a room. i would guesstimate they consume somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-1000x the power and resources that a singleton heating solution requires.

Yeah, I've been looking around for some space heaters and I have some concerns. My room in winter is going to be at around 60F or somewhere close. (Well, last year and the year before it was bit colder around this time, so I don't know). Anyways, I don't know if I should get a space heater if I were to leave it on all day since a lot of the space heaters I've looked at sucks up a lot of power. Any energy efficient aka CHEAP ways to heat up my T's?

 

[Midknight xrs]

with a room that can get down into the 50's (which for most people would be very uncomfortable), is this a room that is wood floored or tile floored? If it is, I would suggest a large floor rug. it will decrease the amount of cold air rising from the floor, as well as provide an additional layer of insulation in the room to keeping heat in. other variables such as electronics, lighting, use of space can also help with room temperature control. I have all my guys next to and around my computer, and for the most part they maintain 80*F well.

 

[WeezyTheAvic]

Make a cabinet line it with something for installation and get some heat pads and place them on the shelf and warm up the hole cabinet like a little room or i have seen those portable closets custom made for tanks to help keep in heat....... yeah i would try to heat a lil space its cheaper than the hole room. or like Midknight xrs said electronics my stearo off in stand by mode puts off heat