# vivarium not hot enough



## craftyphotos (Nov 13, 2011)

its wooden vivaruim that i have with a heat mat under lino inside it 
i have left it over night and temp only got up to 21 degrees C 

so wondering to get another heat source but what ?

this is for king snake which i aint got yet just setting up so it all ready and correct


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## gaz2374 (Aug 29, 2005)

craftyphotos said:


> its wooden vivaruim that i have with a heat mat under lino inside it
> i have left it over night and temp only got up to 21 degrees C
> 
> so wondering to get another heat source but what ?
> ...


Get a ceramic bulb on a pulse stat will get up to tempo problems and stay there all day long , mats under Lino inside vivs don't get nearly as hot enough


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## Hannah81 (Nov 19, 2008)

Where are you measuring the temperature?


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## cardinalgrom (Aug 23, 2010)

gaz2374 said:


> Get a ceramic bulb on a pulse stat will get up to tempo problems and stay there all day long , mats under Lino inside vivs don't get nearly as hot enough


ceramics are a bad idea for kings and corns as it dries out the viv too much, mats are much better but rather than lino i would use a sheet of clear perspex or even a small sheet of reinforced glass or a tile. You must remember to leave a small gap underneath the heat matt to prevent build up of heat which will eventually melt the mat.


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## craftyphotos (Nov 13, 2011)

Hannah81 said:


> Where are you measuring the temperature?


i just moved the digital temp probe about and on warm side in the hide is up to 30 and where sould i put the probes for the therm stat probe and just for reading temp probe


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## cardinalgrom (Aug 23, 2010)

check your matt is working correctly, make sure the whole surface is heating up, also dont forget to leave a gap underneath for air circulation else your asking for a fire.


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## craftyphotos (Nov 13, 2011)

cardinalgrom said:


> check your matt is working correctly, make sure the whole surface is heating up, also dont forget to leave a gap underneath for air circulation else your asking for a fire.


what do you mean a gap underneath 
i have small hole where the wirte goes into the lino and where should i put the probes so it able to read the heat off the surface alright to switch the matt off


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## Hannah81 (Nov 19, 2008)

The probes need to be on the floor over the mat. Tie the stat and thermometer probes together so they stay in the same place. You can use the hide to weight them down with. Mats don't heat air temps very much so it's pointless trying to measure the temp in other places. The temperature in the hide is fine if not a little high, 28C would be better but make sure it doesn't go over 30C. They are fine with the hot spot in a hide, outside the hide will take care of itself.

Mats heat what they touch but if you enclose it between things then thermal blocking occurs and the mat will overheat causing it to either melt or burn the snake.
Putting air in the enclosed space reduces the risk of this as exess heat can then escape into the air. So if you're putting the mat into the bottom of the viv it either needs to be only covered by paper or a very thin layer of substrate or leave a gap batween the mat and waht you cover it with.


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## craftyphotos (Nov 13, 2011)

i know might sound dumb but if the heat mat on sat and gets turned off when it reacts the heat needed wont it cool down then and then wont over heat 
i put the heat mat under lino so it would keep the snake away from the heat mat ?
plus if you have vivaruims you put outside how does air get arround them to stop thermal blocking

heres a photo of how it is 

heat matt on the left hand side










Hannah81 said:


> The probes need to be on the floor over the mat. Tie the stat and thermometer probes together so they stay in the same place. You can use the hide to weight them down with. Mats don't heat air temps very much so it's pointless trying to measure the temp in other places. The temperature in the hide is fine if not a little high, 28C would be better but make sure it doesn't go over 30C. They are fine with the hot spot in a hide, outside the hide will take care of itself.
> 
> Mats heat what they touch but if you enclose it between things then thermal blocking occurs and the mat will overheat causing it to either melt or burn the snake.
> Putting air in the enclosed space reduces the risk of this as exess heat can then escape into the air. So if you're putting the mat into the bottom of the viv it either needs to be only covered by paper or a very thin layer of substrate or leave a gap batween the mat and waht you cover it with.


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## cardinalgrom (Aug 23, 2010)

craftyphotos said:


> i know might sound dumb but if the heat mat on sat and gets turned off when it reacts the heat needed wont it cool down then and then wont over heat
> i put the heat mat under lino so it would keep the snake away from the heat mat ?
> plus if you have vivaruims you put outside how does air get arround them to stop thermal blocking
> 
> ...


the stat only measures the heated part of the viv, not the temp of the mat, think about it, the heater underneath all those layers is going to be a lot more than the surface. This is actual fact were telling you bro,years of dead, burned animals and fires have taught us this so please take it on board.

What you should have is -the bottom of viv-your mat held at least 5mm above the bottom of viv (i use little wooden poles approx 10mm thick), directly above the mat your lino, then your chosen bedding etc.
Or you can put your gap between the lino and heatmat.


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## craftyphotos (Nov 13, 2011)

sorry im dyslexic takes me while to take it all in and sometimes need read things twice i understand now sorry being pain i get what you saying  well if i had plywood on little feet of 7mm and make a base then have matt under it then lino on the plywood and have little holes in the plywood and lino 




cardinalgrom said:


> the stat only measures the heated part of the viv, not the temp of the mat, think about it, the heater underneath all those layers is going to be a lot more than the surface. This is actual fact were telling you bro,years of dead, burned animals and fires have taught us this so please take it on board.
> 
> What you should have is -the bottom of viv-your mat held at least 5mm above the bottom of viv (i use little wooden poles approx 10mm thick), directly above the mat your lino, then your chosen bedding etc.
> Or you can put your gap between the lino and heatmat.


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## grannykins (Oct 9, 2006)

Nothing wrong with ceramics for corns and kings. I use them with mine. Never had shedding problems, so humidity is fine. Ceramics are much better at heating wooden vivs than heat mats, as they also raise the ambient temp. Heat mats can struggle, particularly in the winter months, to keep the air temp anything like. Depends on the temp of the room the viv is being kept in really. If the room is usually a reasonable temp, then the mat should be ok. If your room gets cold, then a ceramic would be better.


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## craftyphotos (Nov 13, 2011)

yeah it does get cold as we have no heating on yet

but would the heat mat be problem under lino for thermal blocking




grannykins said:


> Nothing wrong with ceramics for corns and kings. I use them with mine. Never had shedding problems, so humidity is fine. Ceramics are much better at heating wooden vivs than heat mats, as they also raise the ambient temp. Heat mats can struggle, particularly in the winter months, to keep the air temp anything like. Depends on the temp of the room the viv is being kept in really. If the room is usually a reasonable temp, then the mat should be ok. If your room gets cold, then a ceramic would be better.


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## cardinalgrom (Aug 23, 2010)

craftyphotos said:


> sorry im dyslexic takes me while to take it all in and sometimes need read things twice i understand now sorry being pain i get what you saying  well if i had plywood on little feet of 7mm and make a base then have matt under it then lino on the plywood and have little holes in the plywood and lino


 
YES! this would be suitable. make sure there are a lot of holes in the wood for plenty of air. dont need holes in lino though.

I have used ceramics for corns and kings and they have always made problems for me, wooden vivs are the best for keeping in heat. if you want to raise ambient temps which to be honest you dont need with corns and kings unless you live in a house with no central heating use a tubular heater set on a thermostat at 18degrees c. more economic and more effective plus less chance of overheating or burns.


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