Heating other than mats

[actos]

Is there anything suitable to heat a plastic boxes setup?

Our Nursery snail (fulica) boxes are moved to and from the office and spend nights stacked on top of each other, which means that it's not possible to attach a heating mat and keep it plugged in. There is no overnight heating, although the office stays relatively warm - but it may not be enough for the winter months. Actually, I'm certain it won't be.

I suppose I could just get them the mats and then not move them out of the office for a few months (still, I'd need to move the tanks around for feeding every day - there's not enough surface to keep them next to each other).

I would prefer a different solution, but it has to be safe to leave switched on overnight - i.e. not a fan heater!

Any ideas?

[muddydragon]

i would still suggest heat mats with plenty of padding behind to help insulate. you can then attach heat mats to the padding to keep them roughly inplace (to stop them dropping down if you need them higher)

I did experiment for a while with heat lamps (on glass tanks though) and they were o.k. but tricky and i would not recommend them for plastic tanks. i've also tried hot water bottles when we lost all heating/electricity in the bad winter but they worked in a similar way to heatmats and are a hell of a lot more hassle and if you go to sleep you can't fill them up (i ended up packing them in their transport case and keeping them in bed with me until i could evacuate elsewhere...anyway).

is it not possible to unplug the heatmat and plug it in again at the new location you move them to? they really are the best option.

[actos]

Thanks, Muddydragon!

The mats may have to be it. Otherwise, I was looking at a tiny oil filled radiator, like this: www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/catalogId/1500002951/partNumber/4152291.htm#pdpProductReviews

If I position it near/under the desk and just switch it on before I leave, maybe it will keep them warm enough?

[muddydragon]

i'm afraid i don't really know... if you could make sure the entire room was petty warm then maybe but the snails don't have a heat gradient option (move towards/away from the heat)...