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Post by glittersniffer on Jan 27, 2010 0:41:33 GMT
I don't really know what one to be buying, i need to buy it quick really, i know i could search these sites but i don't have long and i need an earlier night tonight. I've only just got a little money, not loads though.
Is the exo terra rainforrest one okay? I currently have a 35ltr plastic tank, will it melt the side and such...? Im getting a new larger fish tank or another kind soon though.
I've been using hot water bottles on the sides recently.. But then the heating died in our house so i need to order tomorrow, hopefully before college.
Anyone suggest any heat matts? Ebay is easiest.. I don't know what watt im looking for. I have three albino giant snails, a retic about 3 inch shell large body now. A baby iredalei and a new baby fulica.
Thanks for any help!
Edit- Title had a typo... Oops. I type too fast and always make them.
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Post by crossless on Jan 27, 2010 11:24:36 GMT
www.exo-terra.com/en/products/glass_terrarium.php I double checked that what it is, too many names for those terrariums.Exo Terra Rainforest are made from glass so they are safe to use for snails. You maybe need to cover some air holes on top if you need really high humidity in tank.  Heat mat has to be something like it's about size of terrarium bottom or half of that. Let's wait what others think, I'm not expert on heat mats I just bought one and it was too small for my snail tank. Now I'm using it in smaller, it warm smaller tank better than biggest 
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danikat
Achatina achatina
Posts: 85
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Post by danikat on Jan 27, 2010 12:51:04 GMT
Any heat mat designed for animals should be fine. None of them will be hot enough to melt the tank, most you could safely press your hand on and wouldn't feel more than warm. The important thing is it needs to be no bigger than half the size of the tank, then you put it down one end so that if they're too hot they can move to the colder end and visa versa.
You can also experiment with putting it on the side, under the tank or inside under the substrate to vary how warm it makes the tank (with no heat in the house I'd recommend the last one). Just be aware that it'll also affect the humidity, warm tanks dry out much faster.
I used an 'Ultratherm Vivarium Heater' which I got from a local reptile shop for about £7. It's 27x14cm which I would have thought should be big enough for most tanks, although you can get bigger.
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Post by glittersniffer on Jan 28, 2010 14:51:03 GMT
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Post by crossless on Jan 28, 2010 19:34:10 GMT
If tank starts to get too hot, don't attach all mat on tank side, and some people even share same heat mat with terrarium next to it.
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Post by Bumblebee on Jan 28, 2010 20:09:48 GMT
Im using exo terras rainforest heatmat to my tank that is 100*45*40, and it covers almost half of the tank, but i still got some heatingissues and been using a bucket with hot water that ive changed like every two hours (yey for being unemployeed :/ ), but gonna get a heatlamp in the beginning of february... I really dont think that there is any difference between the desertmat and the rainforest mat, its probably just something to lure people to buy more or something dunno lol  And well the lowest wattage ive seen on a heatmat have been ridiculus, only 4w, does that even keep a cup of coffee warm? Not sure what specie your snails are, but generally the temperature shouldnt go above 27 degrees C. |
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Post by crossless on Jan 28, 2010 20:36:28 GMT
There substrate heat mats too they have maybe more power so they warm air too more better than just substrate. I usually make peat more airy so it would keep air more warmer. If peat is not air it just warms peat and dries it too soon. I like myself more of heating lamps I'm just little bit sad that I have really bad lid on my tank so lamps sometimes don't warm enough 'cos heat cant get through the lid. Have to just hope winter would be over I need so badly better tank..
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Post by infiltraitor on Jan 29, 2010 1:05:08 GMT
When we started out we had a 35L plastic tank with a 4W heatmat attached, which wasn't enough once the colder weather arrived so I replaced it with a 7W Ultratherm mat which managed a lot better.
Make sure you've got a decent sheet of polystyrene behind your mat (1 - 2" if possible) to direct all the heat into the tank rather than losing it to the room.
The Tg (glass transition temp) of most plastics is above 100ºC; it's highly doubtful that a low powered heatmat will put out that kind of heat, so I wouldn't worry about melting your tank. Be aware it might get discoloured though.
We've currently got an Exo Terra medium desert heatmat on the back of our 18x10x12" glass tank that has kept our slimers happy through the recent cold spells.
The difference between the rainforest and desert versions is the wattage; you'll find a medium desert mat has the same rated output as a large rainforest mat.
Tonight I'm trialling a 20W Lucky Reptile Heatmat Pro on the side of an 18x18x18" Exo Terra viv that I'm planning on moving the snails into in the next week.
As crossless mentioned - covering quite a lot of the holes at the top of the tank, even with clingfilm will keep the humidity up and slow the rate of heat escaping.
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Post by glittersniffer on Jan 29, 2010 3:49:35 GMT
Thanks for hte help, So if i was to buy a 13.50 watt heat matt thats strong enough?
Or is a 20 watt one better?
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Post by infiltraitor on Jan 29, 2010 9:59:00 GMT
I think on the tank you're currently using 13.5W would probably be about the highest rated I'd try using, but when you say your heating is fritzed it will probably be about right in a cold house.
Make sure you've got a temperature indicator of some kind in the tank, and keep an eye on it - you don't want it to get too hot for your snails.
We use a heatmat thermostat (mat stat) with our heatmats to ensure the tank temperature doesn't get too high. You say you're on a limited budget, so maybe you won't want to buy one right now. It's something to consider when the weather starts warming up again though, as the tank temperature will rise and fall with daily temps if you don't have some control on the mat.
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Post by glittersniffer on Mar 3, 2010 14:40:59 GMT
Do heat mats take forever to heat? I have a little scratch on it, its so delicate and if you touch it too hard it makes a crease.
I got the 13.5 Watt and its barely luke warm. I don't see how this will do a thing to warm the tank..?
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Post by infiltraitor on Mar 3, 2010 23:45:26 GMT
If it's an Exo Terra one, for some reason they don't heat up much when they're not attached to a tank. Maybe having air both sides of the mat to lose heat to explains it.
When I got our mat through I tried plugging it in and was worried it was broken or something as it was barely luke warm too; once attached to the tank side and plugged in it really did heat up nicely.
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