# where to place the heat mat



## neil270289 (Sep 14, 2008)

the shop told me to place polistiring on the cubard then the heat mat and then the tank on top of that. its at the hot end of the tank and only goes on of a night time.... its a wooden viv and is about half an inch thick. what would you recomend


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## CharlieT247 (Jul 27, 2008)

Heat mats are usually only placed underneath plastic storage boxes (eg RUBs) or glass tanks - with a wooden viv it is harder for the heat to get through, so we place ours inside covering 1/3 of the tank and have the thermostat probe and the thermometer sensor on top of that. If you place it inside, you should ensure that you fix it down (not with sticky tape) so the reptile cant get stuck underneath it. Substrate on top should be no deeper than about 1/2 inch (I think), but we are using kitchen roll at the moment. As long as you have a thermostat to regulate the temps there should be no issue with overheating/underheating for the viv.

Hope this helps : victory:


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## neil270289 (Sep 14, 2008)

but you can feel the warmth really well through the floor it does get really warm


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## Mitch_Moshi (Apr 18, 2008)

What sort of Thermostat are you using for the heatmat?


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## CharlieT247 (Jul 27, 2008)

Mitch_Moshi said:


> What sort of Thermostat are you using for the heatmat?


Thats what I was going to ask too - it will be hot if you arent using a thermostat. If you are using a thermostat, what temp do you have it set to and where have you placed the probe?

Oh, also helps to know if its for your beardie (from your sig) or a different reptile?


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

going off your sig you put the heat mat in the drawer and leave it there. Heat mats aren't beneficial for a beardie, except to bump up night time heat IF needed. Beardies don't feel heat through their stomachs, you should be using a spot bulb or a ceramic heater - on thermostats.


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## neil270289 (Sep 14, 2008)

its for my beardie and its not plugged into the thermo because the shop said it doesnt need to be as it only gives out enough heat to keep him warm for the night

many thanks to the comments and could you tell me what end it should be


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## alnessman (Mar 8, 2008)

neil270289 said:


> its for my beardie and its not plugged into the thermo because the shop said it doesnt need to be as it only gives out enough heat to keep him warm for the night
> 
> many thanks to the comments and could you tell me what end it should be


 

you dont need one for bds they will be fine with temps of 60f at night


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

you'll still need to plug it into a stat. A heat mat doesn't know how hot it needs to get to heat a beardie during the night. It just keeps getting hotter and hotter and hotter whereas a beardie can go to about 18c at night but can handle lower than that.
As a test, plug your heat mat in, put a plate on top and crack and egg onto the plate.

Heat mats only really heat the immediate area and not the air so which end you put it is irrelevant unless your beardie sleeps in the same spot each night. If you put it in the warm end your beadie can sleep in the warm end, the cool end or the middle. It can sleep on the floor, on a branch or on a rock so unless it is sitting right where the heat mat is he won't get the benefit of it.


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## bmth girl (Apr 18, 2008)

neil270289 said:


> its for my beardie and its not plugged into the thermo because the shop said it doesnt need to be as it only gives out enough heat to keep him warm for the night
> 
> many thanks to the comments and could you tell me what end it should be


Hi , beardies do not need any heat at night..unless your temps drop drasticaly under 60 deg....:2thumb:


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## neil270289 (Sep 14, 2008)

so what, basically i just swich the lights off and thats it? there is no need for a heat mat or anythink?


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

thats it, unless your house gets drastically cold at night.


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## neil270289 (Sep 14, 2008)

which it doesnt really, so it will be ok to leave off then?
and would it be ok to leave on for so long then switch it of just to make sure the floor is warm? you no like switch his lights off a 9.30, switch the mat on till 12 then when i go to bed switch the mat off? at least that way i no its warmed the floor up lol i just get paranoid that he will become ill


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

it'll only heat the floor up where the mat is and you don't know that he'll sleep there. Plus the heat from the light will be retained for a while.


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## neil270289 (Sep 14, 2008)

YouTube - bearded dragon

this is my youtube vid of my beardie


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## neil270289 (Sep 14, 2008)

many thanks


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