# heat mat under glass??



## bhayward (Feb 25, 2012)

does anyone know weather putting a heat mat underneath a glass tank will heat the base enough??

i only ask as my beardie at the mo seems to be spending alot of time in his hide and when we move him out he's stone cold and being a dessert animal surely that carnt be good for him..

now previous owner had the heat mat in the tank under the sand but from my research ive learnt that beardies carnt feel there underside and i dont want him bury himself and lie directly on the mat and burn himself..does anyone else do this??

thanks


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## pk93 (Jan 26, 2010)

i would personally get a 150w ceramic bulb. 


How big is your viv ?


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## s3xy_sheep (Jan 28, 2009)

Glass is not too good for holding heat ........... I'd buy a wooden viv a basking bulb a uv strip light ans maybe a ceramic for night times dep on heat in room if you look up where they from they can deal quite well with night drops .... some days in central australia can have a 20*c difference betwwen max and min temp


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## angels1531 (Aug 27, 2008)

I stuck mine on top of glass but under a ceramic tile (not for Beardie tho)


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## bhayward (Feb 25, 2012)

my viv's 100x50x50


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## pk93 (Jan 26, 2010)

bhayward said:


> my viv's 100x50x50


 
I would highly recommend getting a ceramic bulb as beardies love to bask and a heatmat may not reach your desired temps.

I personally turn all heat off at night because my room stays about the right temp.

cheers PK


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## s3xy_sheep (Jan 28, 2009)

pk93 said:


> I would highly recommend getting a ceramic bulb as beardies love to bask and a heatmat may not reach your desired temps.
> 
> I personally turn all heat off at night because my room stays about the right temp.
> 
> cheers PK


oh they will .............. must mention STATS are a must 
check the rfuk facebook page there pics on there today of a failed heatmat


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## pk93 (Jan 26, 2010)

s3xy_sheep said:


> oh they will .............. must mention STATS are a must
> check the rfuk facebook page there pics on there today of a failed heatmat


 
I was thinking more along the lines of not heating through the glass, and i would never put a heatmat in the viv.

Good shout though stat is a complete must.

cheers pk


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## s3xy_sheep (Jan 28, 2009)

pk93 said:


> I would highly recommend getting a ceramic bulb as beardies love to bask and a heatmat may not reach your desired temps.
> 
> I personally turn all heat off at night because my room stays about the right temp.
> 
> cheers PK





pk93 said:


> I was thinking more along the lines of not heating through the glass, and i would never put a heatmat in the viv.
> 
> Good shout though stat is a complete must.
> 
> cheers pk


Ive had mats bring up floor temps of 35*c through 18mm wood .......

through glass can get even higher (if not statted )........... if you got a spare mat plug it in somewhere an stick a digi thermom probe on it ....... when i tested a 21w mat this way it got to 53*c obviously different substrates will alter temp gettin to viv so place stat and thermom probe on substrate(warm spot) and adjust to suit


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## pk93 (Jan 26, 2010)

I will take your word for it.

However beardies love to bask so i would still recommend a bulb or some sort. :2thumb:

PK


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## s3xy_sheep (Jan 28, 2009)

pk93 said:


> I will take your word for it.
> 
> However beardies love to bask so i would still recommend a bulb or some sort. :2thumb:
> 
> PK


yeah best way forward ......our 4x2x2 got a uv tube a 150w bulb in for basking and an ahs for at night although am removing this as its not needed in our room very rarely fires and am well above min night temps in the room itself


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## pk93 (Jan 26, 2010)

s3xy_sheep said:


> yeah best way forward ......our 4x2x2 got a uv tube a 150w bulb in for basking and an ahs for at night although am removing this as its not needed in our room very rarely fires and am well above min night temps in the room itself


Yeah, i dont heat my viv at night because as you said before the Oz outback reguly falls low. Aslong as the heat is turned on a a decent time in the morning its all good.

PK


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

bhayward said:


> i only ask as my beardie at the mo seems to be spending alot of time in his hide and when we move him out he's stone cold and being a dessert animal surely that carnt be good for him..



remove the hide... job done


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## grannykins (Oct 9, 2006)

Shouldnt have a hide for a beardie, as he wont get the uv he needs from the uv light ( i presume you have one of these). Basking spot for a youngster should be about 110F, so you need a spot with a thermostat, not a heat mat. He isnt going to bask underneath his substrate. I suggest you go onto the care sheet thread in the lizard section of the forum. This will tell you the correct set up for your beardie so he will be fit and well, and you will enjoy his company for many years to come.


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## bhayward (Feb 25, 2012)

grannykins said:


> Shouldnt have a hide for a beardie, as he wont get the uv he needs from the uv light ( i presume you have one of these). Basking spot for a youngster should be about 110F, so you need a spot with a thermostat, not a heat mat. He isnt going to bask underneath his substrate. I suggest you go onto the care sheet thread in the lizard section of the forum. This will tell you the correct set up for your beardie so he will be fit and well, and you will enjoy his company for many years to come.


i have a basking lamp to create a basking spot as well as a uv bulb for him to get uv from..

i only asked about the heat mat to try and keep the hide warm at night from underneath..

so you all recommend removing the hide completely then??

thanks


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## s3xy_sheep (Jan 28, 2009)

bhayward said:


> i have a basking lamp to create a basking spot as well as a uv bulb for him to get uv from..
> 
> i only asked about the heat mat to try and keep the hide warm at night from underneath..
> 
> ...


 if he stayi in it constatly i would for now ..... i got 2 hides i 4x2 for ours not that he ever uses them just there as an option (but he does climb on them an perch)


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## nutmonkey (Jan 15, 2012)

bhayward said:


> i have a basking lamp to create a basking spot as well as a uv bulb for him to get uv from..
> 
> i only asked about the heat mat to try and keep the hide warm at night from underneath..
> 
> ...


Yes I would recommend removing it as, as previously said, all the time he is in there he will not be getting any UV.

Have you got a good temp gradient in the viv....what are you temps? (cool end, hot end, basking spot) and what UV bulb are you using??


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## bhayward (Feb 25, 2012)

nutmonkey said:


> Yes I would recommend removing it as, as previously said, all the time he is in there he will not be getting any UV.
> 
> Have you got a good temp gradient in the viv....what are you temps? (cool end, hot end, basking spot) and what UV bulb are you using??


warm end is 90

basking 106

cool 85

im currently using a coil type bulb.. however my exo terra light cycle unit got delivered yesterday so ill be putting a repti glo 10.0 in that and poss a 2.0 aswel or a daylight bulb in second 

thanks


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## biggie01 (Feb 23, 2012)

bhayward said:


> does anyone know weather putting a heat mat underneath a glass tank will heat the base enough??
> 
> i only ask as my beardie at the mo seems to be spending alot of time in his hide and when we move him out he's stone cold and being a dessert animal surely that carnt be good for him..
> 
> ...


i have 2 beardies they prefere a basking light as they like there temp around 100-110f and like other end of viv abit cooler around 80f thats why he will be staying in is hide because he cant bask in a morning my beardies will not move until there basking light as been on about a hour then they will lie under it for abit then they will be active its like it charges them up lol..and i wouldnt use sand as when you beardie is eating he will be eating bits of the sand and it will get stook in its stomach and later on kill it.. i didnt know that sand did that until my beardie died at 7 years of age


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

> i only asked about the heat mat to try and keep the hide warm at night from underneath


As long as temps don't regularly fall below 60f then no night time heating is required. It's rare for houses these days to get that cold at night but a lot will depend on where you live I guess.



> basking 106


Could do with being a little higher, a bit nearer 110f is better.


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