Heating options for my Ts

[Garth Vader]

I've been reading the heating pad experiment thread with curiosity, as I would love another heating option for my Ts. They are all arid species that, from what I understand, don't need it to be too warm and room temps are fine (E sp red, A anax, G pulchripes).

They live in my office in a small utility closet. I open the door to the closet and point the space heater towards the closet. The heater is about 3 feet away and on the ground. It is programmed to kick on around 72 degrees. I have a few concerns about the current setup. The fist is that the space heater uses a lot of electricity. The second is that I'm not there at night or much in the weekends, so it makes me a but uneasy to leave it unattended for so long due to fire hazards. The biggest issue is the temps. Yesterday I went in to check on the Ts and I'm glad I did. The thermometer in the closet read 88 degrees despite the setting on my heater. I made sure they all had water and turned the heater off. This has happened before, but not with temps as high. I think the heat gets trapped in the little closet and the temperature on the space heater seems to be very different than the actual thermometer I have in the closet.

My office is in an old building and the temps fluctuate for various reasons which is why I've used a space heater. The lowest temps I observe without my space heater is around 63 at night and then it will get up to around 68-74 during the day.

So here's what I wonder- is there a better way to do this? I've been curious about the option of getting a large heat mat and putting it along the wall behind the enclosures, especially after reading that thread.

 

[CWilson1351]

The only thing I can advise is that you get a separate thermostat for any heat source inside the closet. Nothing fancy, just a $30 one or so. I have 3 of the Jump Start MTPRTC model on Amazon. This way you have better control, even if the door were left closed.
As for the actual heat source I really am too inexperienced with Ts to make a suggestion. Sorry I can't be more helpful

 

[Anoplogaster]

I'd be careful with sticking a heat pad against a wall. Those reptile heat pads are designed to be stuck on glass. I had one on my roach colony that burned out last week from overheating. It left a black spot on the wooden surface that the enclosure is sitting on. That made me really nervous about fire hazards

 

[CWilson1351]

I'd be careful with sticking a heat pad against a wall. Those reptile heat pads are designed to be stuck on glass. I had one on my roach colony that burned out last week from overheating. It left a black spot on the wooden surface that the enclosure is sitting on. That made me really nervous about fire hazards

That's a good point, all 3 reptile heating pads that I have are right on glass and the glass is elevated at least 2" from any wooden surface. Definitely don't want those, even with lower temps and on a thermostat, up against a wall.

 

[Abyss]

The temp read high because u poitned it into a confined space. Thats a bad idea, you just need ambient temp, nothing crazy. Heat pads by design create hot spots where as a soace heater used properly keeps a steady ambient temp.

Pretty sure space heaters are the preferred method. Dont worry about it being a fire hazard because by that logic, all electric items are fire hazards (which they are lol).

Just dont point ur soace heater into the closet where the heat is trapped and all is well

 

[Garth Vader]

The temp read high because u poitned it into a confined space. Thats a bad idea, you just need ambient temp, nothing crazy. Heat pads by design create hot spots where as a soace heater used properly keeps a steady ambient temp.

Pretty sure space heaters are the preferred method. Dont worry about it being a fire hazard because by that logic, all electric items are fire hazards (which they are lol).

Just dont point ur soace heater into the closet where the heat is trapped and all is well

Thank you!

I'll test it out this week when I'm in the office all day and see what the temps are like. Today I went in to check- without the space heater on it got down to 64 at the lowest and 70 was the highest since yesterday, according to my thermometer. I have been closing the closet door more than I used to now that I have another T in there so the daylight doesn't bother her too much, so my guess is that the little area heated up much more. I'll keep my eye on it. I don't want them to get too hot.

 

[Red Eunice]

This is the controll setup I'll be using in my large heated cabinet. Although the final wiring will be slightly different than in the photo.
T'stat is a line voltage 2 pole replacement assembly available at most DIY centers, cost $15 @ Menards. They didn't have single pole in stock at the time of purchase. Either type has a 2°F +/- differential and is non adjustable. A $.50 shallow receptacle box w/h a $1 duplex receptacle and 4 wire nuts. Mounted, temporarily, on scrap wood. You can put one of these together and place it in the closet and should work well.
Most all space heaters pull ambient air across the temp sensor. Thats why aiming one into a closet caused the high temp reading. It kept running to raise the room temp and not the closet temp.
This is just an option you may want to consider using, the choice is yours.