A diurnal heating question

[jasonm96]

I think in all fairness, horned frogs should really have no heat lamp or heat mat and be kept in rooms heated to their needs because they don't bask, they're nocturnal and come active during thunderstorms. In a heated room they would just burrow to thermoregulate. Since this is not possible for everyone, I think whatever way works best for the keeper is what they should stick to, as I see pros and cons with all heat sources. Just so important that there's always one area that is unheated so the frog can choose to escape the heat source when it wants to.

[monster]

Yes I agree that if this is the only way for someone to get there temps then do what you need to do, I wasn't telling him to change anything. I know I'm not huge a fan of putting UTH under the tank with burrowing frogs but that's me, if this is the only way to keep him warm and the right temps to keep the frog healthy then do what you need to do. What I was trying to say is that if he wants it to be natural its the other way around, warmer above ground and cooler under ground. My Siberian Husky is almost like these frogs when its summer. On really hot days she will dig a huge hole out in the yard and she will lay in it, she's not digging these holes to warm up she's digging them to cool off. When her hole becomes warm she will get up and dig deeper or she will go and dig another hole. Its not fun filling holes but its something she naturally does due to instinct. So again if heating from underneath is the only option you have then the keeper should do what he or she needs do, just its not the most natural way to go if your trying to achieve the most natural setup.

[alane]

one of the things i am trying to do is to avoid fluctuations in the ground temperature. If I went without a bottom mat, then that temperature fluctuates with room temperature, which is between 62F and 74F. I sort of wish I could keep a room always at 74F, but I don't think I can.

The mat is mostly heating the wooden furniture upon which the terrarium resides, so the heat is very delayed and indirect by the time it gets to the aquarium glass. I figure the best I can do to simulate this frog's "nature" in my environment is to try to keep the ground temperature static and 'heat' only from the top.

There is the cold side of the tank. I mat-heat only one side + the water. The frog has access to any temperature it wants. I've seen the frog go to the cold side, doesn't really like it, comes back.

With the remote thermometer, I find that the little fellow seeks out 83F pretty reliably. Froggy also transpires; it seems that the frog is always two degrees cooler on top than the surface it's on.

Eh. I feel like i'm paying more attention to this frog than most people do. From what I understand, it also comes from a biome where the weather can be highly variable. So thus the frog is actually a pretty tough critter amongst frogs.

[monster]

Please dont think i was saying you need to take them off, i do understand that some people dont have a choice to heat there tanks this way. Im fortunate that my frog room isnt that big so with a little space heater in the room in the winter i can achieve 75f fairly easy. I was just saying that outside heat comes from above not from below so if we wanted to get technical heat comeing from below isn't very natural. So ya again if your frog seems happy and hes eating and pooping then i would keep it the way it is.

[jasonm96]

Cory heat comes in many ways, rocks, soil and water all retain certain amounts of heat and release some back at night, although the air may be cooler. I think heat mats are good at night because one place heat doesn't come from would be from above. A lot of nocturnal snakes and geckos actually use heat retained from the day to heat up or maintian their body temperature, it's been suggested that some frogs do the same. These animals also burrow, yet in captivity they are given heat mats.

[monster]

The heat that rocks and soil get through out the day does not last very long at night, go out and touch a rock a couple hours after sun down and that rock isn't going to feel warm its going to feel cool. Its like they say if you were lost in the desert at night when the temp drops its good to dig a hole in the dirt start a fire and let it burn to red ash then cover it with sand and then lay on it to stay warm. This is because the ground doesn't stay warm for very long, it cools off shortly after the sun goes down. And this is in the middle of a desert were during the day its very hot. And at night yes the air isn't as warm as during the day but its still warmer the an inch or 2 under the ground, its just the way it works. And again I never once suggested for him not to use them under the tank if this what he needs to do, I was just stating that in the natural environment at given time of the day the soil under neath the surface is going to be abit cooler then air temp. And yes I understand there is different types of soil and sands but they all will cool off at some point after sundown that's just the way it works.

[jasonm96]

It all depends on the temperatures and habitat, put a slate tile or water dish under your heat lamp and see how much it retains after its switched off at night, it will stay quite warm for some time