# heat mat with substrate in viv?



## Big McCann (Sep 19, 2012)

hi guys im looking forr advice. I have to keep my heat mat inside my vivarium, and was for putting sand in. It it okay to put sand in directly on top of the heat mat or has there been bad things come from this? thanks


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## Microclimate (Oct 2, 2012)

It is not advised to put a heat mat under substrate in a vivarium as it stops airflow across the heat mat which can lead to a thermal build up. Ideally is should be under the viv with the viv raised up 5mm above it or on the back wall of the vivarium.

If you have no option but to put it under substrate it should be kept to an absolute minimum of substrate I.e less than 5mm and a thermostat should be used with the probe of the thermostat in direct contact with the heatmat this will mean you will be controlling the temp of the mat so you may need a higher temp setting to get what you want to achieve in your viv. If you go to our website www.microclimate.co.uk and download our heatmat instructions as a PDF then there are drawings of how it should be set u in a few different scenarios.


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## snowqueen75 (May 7, 2012)

We bought a piece of carpet tile from wickes after seeing the repti carpet!  My bd loves it


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## Salazare Slytherin (Oct 21, 2009)

I do, never had any bad things happen, I use viv stacks though.


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

It is quite alright to put a heatmat under the substrate in a wooden viv (with glass vivs it should go underneath) - however I think the exo-terra ones say they are to be used ouside the viv only (but this is a brand of heatmat I will never buy). Just make sure you are using a thermostat and only use about 5-8mm of sand to avoid thermal blocking.


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## Jesterone (Sep 30, 2012)

jools said:


> It is quite alright to put a heatmat under the substrate in a wooden viv (with glass vivs it should go underneath) - however I think the exo-terra ones say they are to be used ouside the viv only (but this is a brand of heatmat I will never buy). Just make sure you are using a thermostat and only use about 5-8mm of sand to avoid thermal blocking.


I can agree with this. I made the mistake of buying an exo terra heat mat from a site that had a very poor description of the product. Needless to say it was useless as intended for glass vivs only.


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## Big McCann (Sep 19, 2012)

i was for using some sand as stated, and yes i suppose about 1cm would be okay above the heat mat as not to cause the thermal blocking as you guys said. Thanks guys!


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## Microclimate (Oct 2, 2012)

1cm of sand would be quite generous as sand blocks the heat escaping extremely well just make sure you have got a thermostat probe directly onto the mat as any heatmat manufacturers mats if they cant get the heat to escape can have very serious effects. Just keep an eye on the mat aswell to make sure there is no burning etc over a period of time.

The same thing can be said for placing items on top of the mat that is under the substrate like hides or bowls these again add to the thermal blocking of the heat.

Another factor is depending on what type of mat you are using if you are using a carbon ink screened mat similar to the Microclimate mats then they will give a uniform heat. If you are using the carbon impregnated type of mat you can tell because this looks like a cloth beneath the plastic if you put weight on this in areas then the resistance of the mat will change giving varying temperatures across the mat. The carbon cloth technology has been used for many years in the making of pressure switches because as weight is put onto the carbon cloth the resistance changes.

A few bits of information for you anyway hope in someway I have been able to give you the reasons to be careful after all it is a heater and anything that gets hot can be dangerous if used incorrectly.


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## Fuller (May 23, 2011)

I know people have bad things to say about them but what about a heat rock instead??

Ive ran one for a little whole now with no probs whatsoever. Just another option.


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## Kiel (Aug 20, 2009)

Fuller said:


> I know people have bad things to say about them but what about a heat rock instead??
> 
> Ive ran one for a little whole now with no probs whatsoever. Just another option.


I believe the tech has improved in the last few years, but I still wouldn't trust a heat rock. I'd rather have a standard rock with a heat lamp to get it to the required temp. with a properly statted lamp you'd hit the correct temperature over a larger area without the risk of hot spots.


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