# ReptiCarpet and Heat mats



## chrisdaniells (Nov 9, 2010)

Yoho,

I'm going to be getting a Leopard Gecko and am researching proper care beforehand (as you should do...) and it's been mentioned about the use of repticarpet to avoid impaction from substrate. However, Leo's also require heat, and I was wondering how UTH works through a wooden vivarium? Is the wood to thick to allow appropriate heat transfer?

If so, how else could I provide heat; can you put the heat mat under the repticarpet or is this too close to the gecko? 

Thanks


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## Wizard (Jun 27, 2007)

Hi mate! I have repti carpet in my Leo's vivs. I've never tried putting the mat under the actual viv...mainly i guess because other people dont do it. I think the reason being is that the heat, even if it could penetrate, would take so long that it wouldnt be effective, and you could risk the mat burning out. Some people put the mat outside if they have a glass viv, but thats all.

My mats are in the viv directly under the carpet and it works a treat...warms up efficiently, and so long as you have a thermostat placed on the carpet above the mat, set at 31-32C, it cant over heat.

Only things you should note, are that feeding can be an issue. My Lil has a rubbish aim, and sometimes she misses her locusts completely and ends up with a mouth full of carpet! For this reason i'm looking to put tiles in now because i'm concerned for the welfare of her teeth! You could get the carpet and then just observe your Leos eating. If the same thing happens with teeth catching then i would advise taking it back out.

Also, Phil likes to pull his carpet up and sleep underneath it. The only way i found to stop this was to put sticky back velcro all round the edge to secure it down. I would have just let him get on with it, but he had a tendency to lay right on the mat, and also poop under there too!

HTH mate, good luck!


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

Welcome to the forum!
With a wooden viv the heatmat should always go INSIDE the viv. This is because wood is a fairly good insulator and there fore not much heat would get through if it was outside. Also, as the heat could not "escape" into the viv the heatmat could overheat which would be dangerous.
The repticarpet (or you might want to consider lino, tiles or slates) will go directly on top of the heatmat. BUT it is essential that you have a thermostat to prevent the heatmat getting too hot and burning your gecko. There are 3 types - mat stat, pulse stat or dimmer stat. A mat stat is the cheapest and perfectly acceptable. A pulse stat would give a more even temperature but are more expensive. A dimmer stat is not suitable for use with a heatmat. Hope this helps!


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## chrisdaniells (Nov 9, 2010)

Ah perfectos! 

If I half and half the floor with tiles and repticarpet, putting the heatmat under the tile, so that the warm end of the viv acts like a basking surface with the tiles 

Thanks for your help, I was just worried the repticarpet would get to hot and potentially burn!


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## Wizard (Jun 27, 2007)

no, it defo wont burn so long as your stat is set correctly and the leo cant get under the carpet. 

Just another note though. I put a mat under a regular 8mm thick floor tile to see how the heat transferred. It comes through perfectly...but took well over an hour or so to penetrate the tile. This was tested outside of a viv environment though, so i'm hoping it will heat up quicker once inside a viv.


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

With tiles or slates the heat does take longer to come through and to stabilize. Once they are up to temperature tho they retain the heat better thus giving a more constant temperature. This is why it is a good idea to set the viv up a few days before the Leo goes in there.


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## angelgirls29 (Jul 10, 2010)

*Sorry to hijack*



jools said:


> With tiles or slates the heat does take longer to come through and to stabilize. Once they are up to temperature tho they retain the heat better thus giving a more constant temperature. This is why it is a good idea to set the viv up a few days before the Leo goes in there.


I'm planning on changing my leo's substrate while cleaning her out.
What will take less time to heat up? I've looked for vinyl tiles but they're all self-adhesive!!! :bash:
I don't really want to buy lino as there will be lots of waste (2m in a 2ft viv...) and I haven't really got anywhere to keep it...
Any other ideas?
Oh and if you use tiles, how do you stop the food slipping between them?

Thanks


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

I use lino but I get small off-cuts dead cheap from my local carpet shop - or you could ask them to cut a piece to size for you.


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## ryuk (Apr 23, 2010)

I use zoo med reptile carpet and heating mats, have done for a year with no problems .


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