Heat mat and Temperature enquiries for D. leucomelas

[dbizal]

Hi all,

More questions from me :P

I obviously need to purchase a heat mat and was told I couldn't put it underneath my Vivarium due to having a false bottom (I assume this would heat up the water and cause problems?) so I was wondering if it would be ok to have it mounted to the bank of the tank? The back has a silicone layer and a great stuff layer (which is coated with more silicone and Tree Fern). I am looking at buying the Exo Terra Rainforest Heat wave mat.

I will be getting little to no heat from my lighting (LED Flood for Daylight and LED strip for moonlight) so the heat mat and room temp will be the only source of heating. How would I achieve the slight drop in temperature during the moonlight hours without a thermostat? (They are too expensive for my budget so any cheaper options would be great).

[Mentat]

You can't locate heat mat below tank or behind foam background. Only options are the sides. If you have space on top left for a small Fluker's dome with dimmer; can use a ceramic heat emitter as heat source.

Can't create a temp. drop without a controller; unless the temperature differential is small and turning off heat source works OK. Will either need a thermostat (auto) or a manual rheostat (dimmer) to lower heat output .

[dbizal]

Will the heat not penetrate through the foam background then or will it cause other problems?
I didn't really want to put anything else inside the enclosure now other than the substrate, plants and frogs haha (it's small as it is), so is the ceramic heater outside of the enclosure? I have two sides of the enclosure exposed but I didn't really want to place a heat mat there for aesthetic reasons...

[Mentat]

No, foam is an insulant, hence it's use in cooler boxes. If top is screen, can use a heat source above it. However; if it's glass, your only option is the heat mat on the side.

[dbizal]

I have the Exo Terra Terrarium so the top is a screen mesh type thing... Although I got my cousin to cut me some glass to fit inside the sections to help with humidity in the tank. I will make a quick video to explain it better, gimme 5 mins.

[dbizal]

Here you go mate: Heating Options - YouTube