Tank heater

[Kirsteinl0751]

I have a new pacman frog, about 2 inches accross. I currently have an under tank heater to keep him warm, and it is currently glued to the bottom of the tank on the outside. Temp at the very bottom of the substrate on the glass is about 100 and at the top of the substrate (about 2 inches of substrate) the temp is around 85. Is this too hot? Would it be better to place the heater pad on the side of the tank? Thanks!

[hasunnyson]

Hey Kirstein, what I've been reading and researching about pacs is that they burrow under to cool down. So I would suggest placing the heater on the side of the tank or back side.

[jasonm96]

Heat mats are contact heaters and should be placed where the animal can sit on top of it. A heat mat on the wall will not provide usable heat to a horned frog. The probe of the thermostat and thermometer should be placed underneath the substrate for direct control of the mat, otherwise the frog may burn itself as it burrows to the floor. The surface temp does not matter, as the frog will spend most of its time in the substrate. However, the easiest, safest and most natural way to heat horned frogs is from above with a heat lamp or a ceramic heat emitter and I'd highly recommend using these methods instead of mats.

[monster]

Please take the uth off the bottom, and not because he is going to get burned but because it so unnatural. They don't bury down under the dirt during the day to get warm, its to keep cool and avoid daytime predators and the moist soil keeps them hydrated through out the hot day. And to answer your question yes 100f is to hot. You want your ambient air temp to sit around 82f to 85f on the warm end of the tank and the other end you want to be a few degrees lower so he can thermal regulate his body temps. You want his substrate to be cool and you will notice that the hotter the tank is during the day the further down he will burrow to escape the heat, but don't get me wrong you don't want it to be freezing either. At night you can let both ends drop a few degrees and he should come out to eat. So I would take the uth heater off the bottom and grab a over head heat source and if its warmer were you are you shouldn't need very high wattage, if you have a ten gallon I would say maybe 40 watts may be ok.

[AKFROG]

If the heat pad is done right you should not have a problem. I have used one since December of 2013. They have been on the side of the tank, never on the bottom.