Heat Mat

[paulste]

Hello all,

Temps in the new indoor enclosure are great at the moment but as he lives in the conservatory, it's going to get very chilly in the evenings in winter.

I know heat mats are generally recommended, but do you think it would be OK to stick one to the side or lid of his 'bedroom' - on a thermostat if required just to make sure/keep night time temps ~ >15 C?

Cheers

 

[paulste]

aren't* recommended

 

[Alexio]

Heat mats (generally) do very little to effect the ambient air temperature. Is your enclosure outside? Using a thermostat is a must whenever you use a heat pad. If the temps outside are below 15 c all night I don't think a 15 watt heat mat would be doing much for you. Most people use powerful red bulbs or ceramic heat emitters for their outside night boxes.

 

[paulste]

Hello. It's an indoor enclosure. I'm currently using a combined heat/uvb lamp and have a spare 100 watt ceramic heat emitter which I planned to use at night times but with him sleeping in the section with the lid, there's no way I could put a 100 watt heater in there with him - it's too small. And I don't fancy heating the entire room to 15 c all night with it, which is why I enquired about the mat.

Hmmm. I'll have a think. I think I'll get a thermostat, run the emitter through that, and try and point it into his hide (where the stat sensor will be) somehow, maybe. There's months before temps drop that low, so there's no rush, just planning ahead in case I need to do any enclosure modifications.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Alexio]

Do you know what the average temperature of the room he is kept in is during the winter?

 

[Tom]

I wouldn't use a heat mat. Your CHE on the thermostat is the best way to go.

 

[Gillian M]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[paulste]

Thanks for the welcome and feedback

Temps in the winter in the conservatory could be as low as 5 c perhaps lower at times I imagine. He's only been living with me for a few months so I haven't been monitoring the temperature in there since I got him.

He came in a viv and was going a bit mental in there so the research began.

It'll be a bit of trial and error when then time comes I suppose but the CHE and stat are on standby ready to be mounted and probably remounted a few times.

Cheers

 

[JoesMum]

Have you considered a thermostatically controlled electric radiator?

With night temperatures around 5C, I would be concerned that even in daytime you will not achieve high enough temperatures for healthy activity.

Your tort will hibernate unless you can keep temperatures considerably above 10C. In the 10-15C bracket it will not be active enough.

I wouldn't try to keep a tort awake in my conservatory in the winter.

In fact, maybe you should consider hibernation as an alternative

 

[Gillian M]

Have you considered a thermostatically controlled electric radiator?

With night temperatures around 5C, I would be concerned that even in daytime you will not achieve high enough temperatures for healthy activity.

Your tort will hibernate unless you can keep temperatures considerably above 10C. In the 10-15C bracket it will not be active enough.

I wouldn't try to keep a tort awake in my conservatory in the winter.

In fact, maybe you should consider hibernation as an alternative

Would a tort living indoors "HAVE TO" hibernate if it that cold?

 

[JoesMum]

Would a tort living indoors "HAVE TO" hibernate if it that cold?

Hibernation is controlled by temperature.

For hibernation temperatures around 5C and consistently below 10C is ideal.

If you have temperatures dropping to that sort of level a tort will become inactive.

It is a struggle to keep a tort going when the days grow short and the temperatures start to drop.

 

[Gillian M]

Hibernation is controlled by temperature.

For hibernation temperatures around 5C and consistently below 10C is ideal.

If you have temperatures dropping to that sort of level a tort will become inactive.

It is a struggle to keep a tort going when the days grow short and the temperatures start to drop.

Thanks very much the info.

I asked because I have noticed that Oli only hibernated the first Winter here, despite the fact that we have EXTREMELY cold Winters, with SNOW here.

 

[BrianWI]

I recommend heat mats all the time... but not for heating an enclosure. I use a heat mat for keeping the humidity up. You put a small one under the tank and it heats the moisture, moving it to the top of the substrate where it can more easily enter the air. I do also like them at nite to keep the humid hide warm and humid.

 

[JoesMum]

Thanks very much the info.

I asked because I have noticed that Oli only hibernated the first Winter here, despite the fact that we have EXTREMELY cold Winters, with SNOW here.

In most homes, the temperatures rarely get below 10C even at night.

A conservatory is just made of glass and many lack heating so keeping them warm enough is a challenge. Ours has underfloor heating, but at night the air temperature would still drop below 10C and in the day we only heat it when we want to use it; it's too expensive to keep it heated all the time.

 

[Gillian M]

In most homes, the temperatures rarely get below 10C even at night.

A conservatory is just made of glass and many lack heating so keeping them warm enough is a challenge. Ours has underfloor heating, but at night the air temperature would still drop below 10C

Thank you very much your help. You cannot imagine how worried I get when Winter gets nearer: Autumn and Spring are a dream here.

 

[paulste]

We have heating in there via the central heating but like you say, it's expensive to keep it heated all the time. I'll see how warm it keeps with the basking lamp on in the day and CHE on thermostat day and night and keep a close eye on it.

Cheers