# heating small exo terra for Pacman frog



## NaomiR (Jan 26, 2009)

I put my heat mat on the back of the tank in case it dried the substrate out but it's not really getting up to the right temperature, should I move it to under the tank?


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

You will get lots of different opinions on this :lol2:all I can tell you is that in my experience they work better underneath, preferably sandwiched between the glass and a sheet of polystyrene. I always aim for a mat no bigger than a third of the base size, and to one side, giving a heat gradient. The frog can then choose the temperature it likes. Substrate drying is an issue, but it won't all dry at once, and it's easy enough to keep an eye on. I find that if I use a drainage layer, under the soil and separated by a porous membrane, it is less of a problem, but you may want to wait until you upgrade your frog to a bigger viv. If you are *not* using a drainage layer, though, keep the substrate on the shallow side, so that it doesn't make too much of an insulating blanket, which could cause glass to overheat and crack- that's never happened to me, though.
Hope some of that makes sense!


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## micky0 (Jul 25, 2012)

Hi it would be better to have under viv , I have mine underneath and always have, rolo has been fine this way for over a year, if anything Im having probs at mo keeping temps up.


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## NaomiR (Jan 26, 2009)

Thanks, I moved the heat mat to under the expo terra but still only reaching 19/20 degrees, I'm thinking perhaps a higher wattage heat mat?


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## micky0 (Jul 25, 2012)

I have been using a ceramic bulb, but it does dry out quick so you need to spray more , mines in a 45-45-60 exo terra so its a tall one .


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## NaomiR (Jan 26, 2009)

Didn't really want to have to buy a canopy to accommodate a bulb but may have to if I can't get the temperature up


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

NaomiR said:


> Didn't really want to have to buy a canopy to accommodate a bulb but may have to if I can't get the temperature up


Try covering part or all of the top mesh with glass, perspex or plastic, cut to size- it won't have a major effect on ventilation, but it *will* keep temps and humidity up quite a bit. You can also tape a piece of bubble wrap round the back and sides.


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## micky0 (Jul 25, 2012)

NaomiR said:


> Didn't really want to have to buy a canopy to accommodate a bulb but may have to if I can't get the temperature up


Mines on top of the mesh in a cage bulb holder that sits on top, what Ron said sounds good :2thumb:


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## Harbinger (Dec 20, 2008)

Dont Pacman frogs like average room temps?


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## micky0 (Jul 25, 2012)

Harbinger said:


> Dont Pacman frogs like average room temps?


They need 80-85 day temps. so , unless you have a hot house :lol2:


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

It doesn't hurt them to have a cooler rest period for a while, though. Temps vary quite a lot in the wild, according to season.


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## NaomiR (Jan 26, 2009)

I might not use additional heat mid summer but right now it's very cold


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## JRB 89 (Aug 5, 2013)

You say its only reaching 20c. How are you measuring this? Don't go by a dial thermometer, a heat mat uses infra red heat and will not significantly add to the ambient air temperature of the enclosure. Also try and raise the enclosure off the heat mat even by just a couple of millimetres, perhaps put a coaster at each corner, otherwise the thermostat probe will be measuring the temp on a part of the mat sticking out from underneath the tank whilst the large tank will be blocking the mat and getting much hotter than the part of the mat being measured. You need a slight air gap. Hope this makes sense.


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## NaomiR (Jan 26, 2009)

I think I've got it sorted, I've stuck the heat mat to the side of the exo terra and the temperature's slowly rising : victory:

I've got the termostat probe tied to my digital thermometer probe stuck the the inside of the tank three quarters of the way down :2thumb:


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## NaomiR (Jan 26, 2009)

I'm back to square one; the bigger heat mat fell off the side of the tank because it was too big to properly fix to the side, I stuck the smaller 7w one to the side but again can't get anything over 20/21 degrees, I don't actually know what to do? I can't get a canopy (heat) lamp because its not suitable for my albino Pac man, I need a bigger heat mat but I can't get it to stay on the side, why is providing heat so jolly difficult?

Any ideas please?

Thank you


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