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Thread: Terrarium heating

  1. #1
    Stjimmy1990
    Guest

    Default Terrarium heating

    Ok so I have an exo terra 18x18x24 terrarium with a 2.0 an 5.0 bulb in the lamp. But I still have trouble keeping the heat above 70. But I saw the zoo med under tank heaters. Would that help me? I'm preparing for a red eyed treefrog. And if the heat is ok to use what size do I need?

    Thanks!

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  3. #2
    bshmerlie
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    Your house must be freezing. Yes you can use the heat mats just stick it to the side of the tank. Get one the appropriate size of the tank. Your size tank is a 33 gallon. Just make sure you monitor it with a thermostat...especially since summer time is coming. Why don't you post your location in your user profile so we can figure out where not to move to because its so cold.

  4. #3
    Stjimmy1990
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    Lol I'm actually in Arkansas we just keep it comfortable in the house. An thanks!

  5. #4
    bshmerlie
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    ARKANSAS?...Oh...I figured you'd be up in Alaska staring at Russia with Sarah Palin.

  6. #5
    Stjimmy1990
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    Hahaha nope Down here in southern arkansas.

  7. #6
    ZachTurner
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    Your "2.0 and 5.0" bulbs are compact florescent I take it and not incandescents which actually produce viable heat..?
    What are you using to monitor your temps? A digital thermometer with a probe?
    Tape & Dial thermometers are not accurate. Anything stuck to the glass is just giving you a temp of the glass and not the tank..

  8. #7
    bshmerlie
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    My spiral 2.0s put out quite a bit of heat.

  9. #8
    ZachTurner
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    Quote Originally Posted by bshmerlie View Post
    My spiral 2.0s put out quite a bit of heat.
    Without a wattage how can you know that for sure..?
    We should really know what wattage we are looking at before we go adding a Heating pad to a 30gallon tank..
    a quick bulb swap is usually the better option..

  10. #9
    Stjimmy1990
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    Quote Originally Posted by ZachTurner View Post
    Without a wattage how can you know that for sure..?
    We should really know what wattage we are looking at before we go adding a Heating pad to a 30gallon tank..
    a quick bulb swap is usually the better option..
    Well I have the 2.0 and 5.0 in the 26 watt. And still need more heat. So I'm going for the heating pad.

  11. #10
    ZachTurner
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    Quote Originally Posted by Stjimmy1990 View Post
    Well I have the 2.0 and 5.0 in the 26 watt. And still need more heat. So I'm going for the heating pad.
    In my opinion a Heat pad is a bad choice..
    At 26 watts a compact florescent puts out no viable heat.. swapping the 2.0 to an incandescent will give you your needed heat.. and unlike a heat pad will still allow for a nice gradient..
    And what are you using to monitor your temps?
    applying a heat pad to the back wall with out properly watching your core temp and you will end up looking at frog belly plastered to the glass front of your tank instead of watching your captive enjoying the landscaping you have done across the back of your tank..

  12. #11
    Stjimmy1990
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    Well I was going to put the pad on the glass bottom of the tank so substrate would be on top. And I have the analog thermometer an hydrometer. But I wouldn't say the thermometer is off because I have an inferred thermometer I used and it read the same thing.

  13. #12
    ZachTurner
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    The pad should not go on the bottom at all.. while I dont agree at all with bshmerlie's idea of putting a heat pad on the back wall its is the better option if your only going to consider the two..
    The problem with tank mounted analog thermometer is your not getting the core temp inside of the tank.. just the temp of the glass where its mounted. Making it inaccurate.. a digital thermometer with a probe is much more effective and are fairly cheap anymore..

    Heat pads and or tape is just a bad option for arboreal vivariums. and in my opinion you should look into a bulb swap before you decide to go that route..

  14. #13
    bshmerlie
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    Quote Originally Posted by ZachTurner View Post
    Without a wattage how can you know that for sure..?
    You can feel it....
    Yes I do understand heat is all relative but I have four 26 watt reptiglo 2.0 on a 36 in tank and they produce heat. It raises the temp in the tank about 4-5 degrees. I measure this with two digital thermometers at two different levels in the tank. Do they produce enough heat for Mr. Arkansas....obviously not. I personally don't like the incandescent bulbs. They produce too much heat IMO. With a side mounted heatmat you can put it on a thermostat and not worry about it heating up the tank too much...especially with summer approaching. You also risk a lazy frog getting burned if he chooses to sleep right under the incandescent bulb and doesn't move his butt when the lights go on. I am making this assumption because Arkansas said he has the Exo Terra which probably means he's using the standard Exo Terra hood. The bulb is literally an inch from the screen and if his red eyes are anything like mine they're sleeping in the top leaves about an inch or two down from the screen. This is just my opinion ...but there is a risk of hurting the frog if you're trying to produce enough heat from something up above to reach further down. A well placed heatmat low on the side of the tank does just fine without the risk. With summer approaching incandescents just don't seem like the best choice....IMO

  15. #14
    bshmerlie
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    When did I say stick it on the back wall? Stick it to the side (left or right ) of the tank. I don't believe its going to do much good under the soil.

  16. #15
    ZachTurner
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    Quote Originally Posted by bshmerlie View Post
    You can feel it....
    Yes I do understand heat is all relative but I have four 26 watt reptiglo 2.0 on a 36 in tank and they produce heat. It raises the temp in the tank about 4-5 degrees. I measure this with two digital thermometers at two different levels in the tank. Do they produce enough heat for Mr. Arkansas....obviously not. I personally don't like the incandescent bulbs. They produce too much heat IMO. With a side mounted heatmat you can put it on a thermostat and not worry about it heating up the tank too much...especially with summer approaching. You also risk a lazy frog getting burned if he chooses to sleep right under the incandescent bulb and doesn't move his butt when the lights go on. I am making this assumption because Arkansas said he has the Exo Terra which probably means he's using the standard Exo Terra hood. The bulb is literally an inch from the screen and if his red eyes are anything like mine they're sleeping in the top leaves about an inch or two down from the screen. This is just my opinion ...but there is a risk of hurting the frog if you're trying to produce enough heat from something up above to reach further down. A well placed heatmat low on the side of the tank does just fine without the risk. With summer approaching incandescents just don't seem like the best choice....IMO
    back wall side wall.. my mistake..
    Again not taking into account the possibility of different wattages saying an "incandescent" bulb swap is a bad idea is a tad naive IMO..

    But thats just my opinion.

  17. #16
    bshmerlie
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    Quote Originally Posted by ZachTurner View Post
    back wall side wall.. my mistake..
    Again not taking into account the possibility of different wattages saying an "incandescent" bulb swap is a bad idea is a tad naive IMO..

    But thats just my opinion.
    Naive?....how do you figure. He has Red Eyes and they don't need a basking spot. He's just trying to warm up the tank a little bit. Put your hand three inches from the spiral bulbs and its warm but its not going to burn you...or the frog in this case. Put your frog next to an incandescent ....can you say the same thing? Yes getting low watt incandescent isn't going to burn the frog but it also would have to be good enough for his plants and put out the heat he's looking for. What watt would you recommend? Which brand? Will it be adequate for his plants and what temp will it be three inches away? Its a red eye so it can't be that hot next to his skin. These are the things that I consider when I give recommendations to people.

  18. #17
    ZachTurner
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    I know the red eye doesnt need a "basking spot".. I do keep red eyes.. With the right wattage its just as easy to slowly raise the core temp with out much concern just as heating option B.. I understand what your saying about a frog clinging to the screen underside the lights.. I have just never had this happen to me in my 20 some years of keeping frogs and so I Havent considered that a risk.
    You can get 5.0 uvb Neodymium incandescents. Being nocturnal Red eyes dont really need it..
    Plants dont require uvb.. the uvb spectrum is to low for propper photosynthesis
    280 - 315 nm Includes UVB ultraviolet light which actually harmful and causes plants colors to fade.
    We are talking about heat source A and B.. I not against heat pads as an Idea but the location you would have to apply it to work for a arboreal vivarium.. Creating a proper heat Gradient from top to bottom is the better option in My opinion.. if the florescent bulb creates as much heat as you imply plus adding another heat source to one side gives us a large heated area and very little gradient.. with a higher chance of over heating your frog.. Can it be Done? YES.. But in my opinion there is a better way..
    A small heatpad on the very top side of one side so we still have all the heat emitted from one direction I would consider viable.
    But I would consider a simple bulb swap just as easy..

    I would try a 15-20watt incandescent before I considered using a heatpad..
    Last edited by ZachTurner; May 25th, 2011 at 02:41 AM.

  19. #18
    bshmerlie
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    We are at the end of May....coming up on June. In the next few weeks he's going to have a hot day. In your scenario your heat source is coming just from your lighting. So let's say his room temp right now is 65 and his current lightning brings him up five degrees to 70....he switches his lights to incandescents and it goes up ten or twelve degrees to 75-77.....That's great right? But next week Arkansas warms up and now its 75 in his house. My scenario his lights would bring him to 80 and the thermostat would not allow the heatmat to come on. In your scenario his red eyes are sitting in 85-87 degree heat and if it got hotter than that his lights would continue to cook his frogs. And as gets into the middle of summer the incandescent lights as your heat source makes less and less sense. Im just not a fan of your lights being your heat source....I think it spells trouble on an unsuspecting new frog owner. I heatmat controlled by a thermostat may not be your ideal heat gradient but it is the safest option with no risk of harming the frogs. You have obviously missed my post about summer approaching....the nice warm incandescent lights people used during the winter may end up cooking their frogs during the summer....we hear about it every year....from multiple people. Im sorry but I go for the fool proof option where he doesn't have to worry about it.

  20. #19
    bshmerlie
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    One more thing as a side note. This is just a discussion about heating preferences. Throwing out condecending words or phrases such as "bad choice", "bad option", or "naive" is really uncalled for. Something is only bad if its going to be harmful to the inhabitants...everything else is our opinion on what would be the best approach to handle the issue at hand. On other forums there are bloody discussions on stupid things simply because people act like their's is the only way and everyone else is just doing it all wrong. But when it really comes down to it ....its just our opinion....and nothing more.

  21. #20
    Stjimmy1990
    Guest

    Default Re: Terrarium heating

    Speaking of thermostats. How about a zoo med reptitemp 500r? I found o e on amazon for $25. Is this what I would need?

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