Some specifics on heating

[Tripe46]

I have my juvenile white's tree frog (Maurice) in a 20 gallon (vented in front and on top) terrarium, for heating I use a 75w infrared bulb, I also have a 40w uvb for daytime. The terrarium is in our finished basement which is heated by baseboard heaters. With the bulb I have to leave the heat on low all day to keep the cage the proper temperature, and it drys out the plants and substrate like crazy (I empty a 6oz spray bottle at least once a day)!
My questions are:
Is a mat heater the way to go? if so what size for a 12d x 22h x 20w?

Is there anything out there that can be put in or under the substrate to keep it humid and warm?

[John]

Why are you using UVB bulb?

To answer your question, that's what incandescents do. Your best bet is to get a lower wattage bulb and/or get a spotlight bulb. The spot will still dry the substrate, but it should be a more confined area.

[Tripe46]

The infrared bulb isn't a "spot/basking" lamp, it's just a red bulb. I'm aware that the frogs don't need a daytime light but I had it laying around, and it gets the terrarium to 85 during the day, and I have not read anything negative about using one (correct me if I'm wrong). Also if I go to a lower watt bulb I doubt that it will keep the terrarium warm enough. I am also looking to get to the point where I don't have to leave the baseboard heat on all day. To give you an idea its about 60 degrees f when the heat is off and about 70 when its on, and the terrarium is as close to the baseboard heat as safely possible.

[John]

Sorry, I missed the infrared bulb. That's a difficult question to answer. Having the terrarium in such a cold room necessitates decent heating, but decent heating will dry out your substrate, no matter what way you do it. You could try restricting the ventilation slightly - how much area is ventilation?

[Tripe46]

Vented top is aprox 11"x20" front panel is about 3"x20". On a previous setup I built a "rain system" I bought a pump, a couple valves and some tube. Mounted the pump in a plastic container (reservoir), ran tube to the cage. In the cage i made a oval out of the tube, drilled holes in it, flushed all the plastic bits out, and mounted it to the ceiling of the tank. I then put the pump on a timer to come on twice a day in one minute intervals. It worked however the holes in the plastic tube i used shot in strange directions or closed up. I tried PVC but the pressure was either way too much or not enough (couldn't find pvc smaller than 1/2 inch). I've seen systems like this but they are geared towards keeping plants not frogs and are way too big and too expensive, plus I'm a DIY kinda guy anyway. I also heated the water in the reservoir to 80 degrees f. I'm considering doing this again but I'd have to do better than last time. Do you know about/have you had experience with anything like that?

[John]

You could probably block out about half of that vent safely. Just keep in mind it will be hotter in there as a result, so you will almost certainly have to reduce your wattage.

[1beataway]

Your rain system seems like a neat idea...

Wouldn't having some sort of a mister help, or would it just not do enough?

[Tripe46]

Ha I actually just discovered that there is a dimmer on my clamp lamp, so I guess I can just tone it down if it gets too hot. I actually have not looked into mister systems, that's a good idea. I'm more worried about the live plants than the frog because hes got a large water dish that I clean every day, so if he needs to get we he can. However when the substrate drys out its difficult to get it wet again (obviously) so a properly positioned mister system could work great. Can anyone recommend a good one?

[John]

I've never used a misting system but from what I have read, most people either build their own or use a proprietary one like a Mistking.

[VivariumLand]

Hi
I have MistKing System in my terrariums, and I can say that was the best choice that I made to get the best humidity for my Dart Frogs.
If You have any questions - just ask