Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2005 17:53:09 GMT
i want to keep the snails warm in the winter, so they dont notice any difference and keep breeding. but isnt there a cheaper way than heat mats? theyre SOOO expensive. and i dont wanna leave the radiator on really hot in my room cus i wudnt be able to sleep.
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Post by copigeon on Sept 13, 2005 17:56:40 GMT
Heat mats arnt that costly? Go for one long one instead of individual 6 inchx6inch mats? and sit the tanks side by side? if this is physically possible.
I noticed there was something in a thread about not putting heat mats under tanks, but would it be viable if they only took up a very small percentage of the floorspace? would the snails/slugs etc have the sense to travel from the too hot end to the cool end as they needed to like reptiles do? Or would they just cook themselves at one end.
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Arno
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Post by Arno on Sept 13, 2005 17:59:11 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2005 18:11:33 GMT
the heat cable is £23.95 its ok to put the heat mat under the tank, snails have the sense to move to the other end when it gets too hot. heat mats arent that hot anyway.
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Post by copigeon on Sept 13, 2005 18:18:39 GMT
£15+postage of about £4 for a 47x6 inch heatmat? cheaper than cable?
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Post by sezzy5889 on Sept 13, 2005 18:23:11 GMT
they've got them on ebay
on ebay type in 'insect heat mat/s' and youll get some :-)
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2005 18:38:16 GMT
oh yeah theres one for 99p. but unfortunately i cant be here in 25 hours
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Post by Paul on Sept 13, 2005 18:40:22 GMT
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Val
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Post by Val on Sept 13, 2005 18:48:03 GMT
oh yeah theres one for 99p. but unfortunately i cant be here in 25 hours ?
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Post by ceiron on Sept 13, 2005 18:48:04 GMT
tisnt ok to put heatmats under tanks, theres a few reasons, the pressure and ehat together can cause a fire risk, mat can overheat or the tank, especially if glass can crack or break.
it also provides a heat source underneath, so if the snails overheat, in the wild they would burrow to escape it, they try this with a heat mat under the tank and they burrow into more heat and thus overheat.
major risk of that happening.
place heatmats along the back or side is the best method imo.
and tbh mike, heatmats are cheap, if you cant afford them, how can you afford the snails ?
got a good month or so yet, a few quid a week put away will sort you out.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2005 18:55:36 GMT
well ive never had a snail die from heatmats, all my tanks are plastic. and i dont like to spend £15 at once, i'll try and get it off ebay....
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Arno
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Post by Arno on Sept 13, 2005 18:57:24 GMT
oh yeah theres one for 99p. but unfortunately i cant be here in 25 hours ? ........to bid on it.......
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Val
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Post by Val on Sept 13, 2005 18:57:32 GMT
I agree with Ceiron about this, heat coming from underneath them isn't natural, much better along the back of the tank leaving the substrate cooler.
Val
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Post by copigeon on Sept 13, 2005 19:03:35 GMT
Ok, but we're not talking about a mat that covers the entire floor of the tank... say 6 inches out of a total 26 the fire risk must be minimal because surely (underneath) the tanks is what theyre designed for?
Surely the snail has the sense to move away from the heat source from warmer to cooler substrate?
The issue with strapping the mat along the back is that its wastefull where the air temp of the room is far cooler than the tank needs to be, and you have to have a greater area of heatmat than if it were underneath, because less heat is tranferred to the tank itself rather than lost to atmosphere?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2005 19:06:24 GMT
? ........to bid on it....... oh dw i put a maximum bid on it. its complicated i can only be here at certain times
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Post by section8angel on Sept 13, 2005 19:10:20 GMT
They're not cheap everywhere. You have to look around. Everything for reptiles is bloomin expensive round here that's what I get most of my stuff from online. Like ebay. Luckily I haven't needed a heat mat for mine as my room stays quite warm even in winter with the heater off!
Apart from that, I've also read that putting them on the side is better for the snails but not for conserving heat (like has been said) and that if you have to put it underneath put a layer of something between it and the tank. I can't for the life of me remember what it was they said though!! Might have been thin polystyrene. The fire risk is strange as they were made to go underneath the tank and the majority of vivariums that are sold with heat mats are made of glass!
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Arno
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Post by Arno on Sept 13, 2005 19:11:58 GMT
It depends what you do,if you have the heatmat on the inside of the tank you won't loose any warmth in the room.The manufacturers of some heatmats warn against putting them on the underside of the tank.(glass ones)
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Post by ceiron on Sept 13, 2005 19:13:07 GMT
technically speaking you should ahve an airspace between the tank and the heatmat anyway.
but most aniamls dont detect heat from the bottom, they have the sensors on their backs and stuff, so by burrowing down they dont realise its getting warmer.
i spose if it was jsut a little bit of the floor covered it would be ok, personally i prefer heating the room.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2005 19:14:11 GMT
how can u put them on the inside what if they burn themselves?
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Post by ceiron on Sept 13, 2005 19:15:07 GMT
They're not cheap everywhere. You have to look around. Everything for reptiles is bloomin expensive round here that's what I get most of my stuff from online. Like ebay. Luckily I haven't needed a heat mat for mine as my room stays quite warm even in winter with the heater off! Apart from that, I've also read that putting them on the side is better for the snails but not for conserving heat (like has been said) and that if you have to put it underneath put a layer of something between it and the tank. I can't for the life of me remember what it was they said though!! Might have been thin polystyrene. The fire risk is strange as they were made to go underneath the tank and the majority of vivariums that are sold with heat mats are made of glass! msot manufacuteres actually reccomend putting them on the back of the tank, not on the floor, usually when sold with vivs they are jsut thrown in, so it looks a bettr deal. agreed reptile stuff can be expensive but thena t the end of the day its absic reptile welfare, if ya cant afford it, you shouldnt be keeping them imo.
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Post by ceiron on Sept 13, 2005 19:15:33 GMT
how can u put them on the inside what if they burn themselves? you dont. you put it on the outside.
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Post by section8angel on Sept 13, 2005 19:16:08 GMT
Oh yes I prefer to heat the room as well.
I'm not saying heat mats are all safe or anything, just most of them that get sold (that I have seen) are for the underneath and say safe with glass. But of course it can differ especially if they are very cheap ones.
And they said about the inside because Arno said about putting it inside. That confused me too! lol
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Post by ceiron on Sept 13, 2005 19:18:57 GMT
lol, ok, think i am catching up now.lol
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2005 19:19:16 GMT
i still dont see any risk in putting a heatmat about 1/3 of the area of the bottom of the tank underneath it. whichever tank has the heat mat always seems happiest and they never hibernate.
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Post by ceiron on Sept 13, 2005 19:21:11 GMT
i still dont see any risk in putting a heatmat about 1/3 of the area of the bottom of the tank underneath it. whichever tank has the heat mat always seems happiest and they never hibernate. its personally up to you, been advised and told the risks etc .. so your free to make your mind up.
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