Need to warm up my tomatos

[Baloo]

I kept my two tomato frogs in my living room and the thermostat read 73.4F so I thought everything was ideal, and they were doing well. But I tested my therm in hot water yesterday and it didn't move at all. So I tried another I had and it jumped up (in the hot water) to 104.5f. So I put the working therm into the tank and it was 65f. Its early winter and chilly where I live right now. So I'm wondering if I should get a heat lamp with a 50w and keep it on very low so the temp stays around 73-75f.

[Bombina Bob]

Hi Robbie, Ive used heat lamps in the past and i think that they are unnecessary. The frog can and will possibly dry up from the heat. A good and natural way to provide heat is to use a heat mat, it depends on the size of mat for your size of tank. A thermostat can be connected to the heat mat so you don't worry about the temps going too high. They will usually have a sticky side used for the bottom of the terrarium, you can use this on the bottom but its more preferred on the side of the tank. Temps should be around 75 to 80 at the very hottest.

[Baloo]

Problem is I got a heater on it, the 10-20 gallon heater size and its on a 20 gallon. But I'm still getting a max of 65f.

[Mentat]

What kind and wattage of heater do you have?

[Baloo]

Zoo Med 8w

[Mentat]

Although ZooMeds 8W is rated for tanks to 20G; that is when the ambient temperature is not too low and the pad is used under the tank. When it come to using those pads on the side (required) for frog enclosures, you are better off getting the largest pad can fit on a side and then plugging it to a manual rheostat or automatic thermostat. That way you can adjust it's heat output; just make sure the controller is rated for the pad's total watts. Hope this helps and good luck !