Large Heat Mat & Fake Grass/Astroturf Questions?

[GilesColey]

Hi all


I have just about finished my enclosure for my SWCP and wanted to get a large heat mat for it


Can I have some advice on the best heat mats to get, I have been using a small reptile one mat in the small enclosure but will need something bigger now for the larger enclosure


The enclosure is around 2500mm long x 7500mm wide so looking for a mat around 800mm x 500mm


I have found putting the mat on the floor and covering it will smooth river pebbles works really and the pebbles heat up nicely. It looks a lot nicer and more natural than a tile as well


Any suggestions on which heats are good quality and where I can get one from?


I also wanted to put some fake grass/Astroturf on part of the floor (and maybe 1 side wall) and was wondering what is the best thing to use for this. I did see something called repti-carpet when researching this? Not sure how good it is? I did see fake grass at Bunnings but the quality looks crap and Im worried about chemicals in it etc? Some help on this would be appreciated as well.


Thanks all

 

[Beans]

URS I think they are called are pretty decent. I've been using them for years and they are perfectly fine.

I can't for the life of me remember any other ones. -_-

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Yeah these guys http://www.ultimatereptiles.com.au/

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Wait no I have a smaller version of this one https://www.amazingamazon.com.au/heat-pad-mat-thermostat.html

I have had mine for the last 3 years with absolutely no issues. It still gets nice and warm, and works really with a thermostat

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Mine doesn't have the thermostat inbuilt because I don't trust the thermo to do the job correctly, but the heat mat itself is awesome

 

[GilesColey]

Thanks Beans

I notice the largest one on that site is 6500 x 2800

I was hoping to find one about 800 x 500 so it almost covers a lot of the width of the cage and covers about a third of the length, but the width seems above what they make them so I will settle for the length if possible

I saw the Microclimate get a lot bigger (724mm x 305mm and 889mm x 305mm)
https://www.amazingamazon.com.au/microclimate-heat-pad.html


Has anyone used them on here, are these any good?

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The same for the Habistat heat mats on Herpshop


http://www.herpshop.com.au/Heating.html


740mm x 280mm
35 watts
$65.00 each


890mm x 280mm
42 watts
$70.00 each


1200mm x 280mm
60 watts
$90.00 each

 

[Beans]

I use a microclimate thermostat.

They are pretty good and do the job well.

 

[GilesColey]

Thanks again Beans

I assume the microclimate heat mats will be ok as well

Cant decide between microclimate and Habistat heat mats

 

[Beans]

I think both of them are pretty reliable.

Can't go wrong with Habistat and Microclimate :3

 

[GilesColey]

Cheers beans, appreciate your help, will go with Habistat

 

[mje772003]

I use Habistat pulse proportional with my heat panel not heat mat and use astro turf (different grades from bunnings) and also use marine carpet too. about your concerns on chemicals I would give astro turf or marine carpet a good soak with the hose and then spray with F10 and then let dry

 

[GilesColey]

Fantastic thanks mate, I have a Habistat pulse proportional at home as well I have been using with the click clack so that will be perfect for the large enclosure as well

 

[adderboy]

Fantastic thanks mate, I have a Habistat pulse proportional at home as well I have been using with the click clack so that will be perfect for the large enclosure as well

I use the Habistat pulse proportional thermostats for mine too (though I also have one microclimate as well) and they will do the job - they are reliable and accurate. I use them for incubating eggs, too.

Cheers,
S

 

[GilesColey]

Thanks Adderboy

 

[baker]

Why don't you use heat cord instead of a heat mat? Its cheaper to buy, more versatile and cheaper to run depending on what wattage you purchase compared to the larger heat mats. All you need to do to use it is put it in a zig zag pattern with each loop spaced about 3-5 centimeters apart. Then put a large tile on top to absorb and distribute the heat and attach a thermostat. You can make the hot spot as large or as small as you like and it will be a lot easier to clean a tile than river stones.
Cheers Cameron

 

[GilesColey]

Thanks Cameron

I have a heat cord as well that I have used before, I will test it and see how it goes

I guess I just like the look of the pebbles rather than a tile

 

[Beans]

Tile or cord, they both do the job. You can still cover the cord with pebbles though

 

[ronhalling]

I have 1 question on using the pebbles with a heat mat or cord : where do you put the thermo probe, on above or below the pebbles? as a larger SWCP would move the pebbles around a lot causing all sorts of heat spots. ....................Ron

 

[GilesColey]

ronhalling, I though about putting it underneath and see how it goes, if not could I just secure it to the floor somehow? Still trying to work it out?

Havent really considered all the options yet, but I do like the pebble look so trying to use them if possible, would it be better to have the probe on top or underneath the stones, I thought on top would be a more accurate reading of what heat the snake is getting? Still learning from all you pros though

This is what it looks like so far, still building 2 hides so the eggbox and fluffy thing will go

 

[Beans]

Actually you could have the best of both worlds with the pebbles.

So what you can do is get a tile, flip it over to where you put the tile glue, on the rough side and somehow attatch the pebbles ontto the tile and put the tile ontop of the heat mat / cord .

That way the stones wont move around and you can just take it out to clean it if need be?

Could work. ^_^

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Also my most favouriter thing in that tank is definitely the skull ornament.

I love his expression of

 

[ronhalling]

Fabulous looking enclosure, i can see a lot of pride has gone into the building of this reptile palace and i would not change a thing.
Beans is spot on with his thinking on using a pebble base such as a tile or tiles on top of the heat mat with the pebbles glued on them with tile glue, just for safety sake put some bamboo bbq skewers under the tile/tiles so there is an air gap.
Using the idea put forward by Beans would stop the snake from moving the pebbles around, as far as the thermo probe is concerned i think between the heat mat and tile would suffice. .........................Ron

 

[ajwill]

Could you use Aqua safe silicon to attach the pebbles to the tile?

 

[Beans]

I tthink you could probably use any glue that is used in a pond as it can't be giving off nasty chemicals because it would kill the fish if it did, and fish are alot more sensitive to change than snakes.