| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Tylersmatrix |
Posted - 14/08/2011 : 18:25:10
Hi all,
Pleased to say I have just purchased my first royal- pics to follow shortly. He currently weighs just over 200g and I have him in a viv. Problem I have is the heat mat I have doesn't seem to be getting the viv hot enough. It is stuck to the bottom of the viv which has a polystyrene/ foam lining- if that makes sense? Should I cut that out so the mat is attached directly to the glass? I do have the mat attached to a stat. |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| boomslang |
Posted - 15/08/2011 : 22:08:06
No wonder it wasn't getting hot then,Alot of people put poly below the mat.So the heat is directed up. |
| Tylersmatrix |
Posted - 15/08/2011 : 20:49:57
it was on top of the mat but now i have removed that section i have far better temperature control. With the probe in the hot hide it is hitting up to 32c and could go higher- cool end is staying at about 26c. I think i might have put too much aspen in as well. My corn uses beech chippings which he normally bury's into to get closer to the bottom but the aspen is a lot more compact than i though it would be. |
| boomslang |
Posted - 15/08/2011 : 18:16:51
quote:
Originally posted by Tylersmatrix
Had a mad dash last night and cut the poly out to stick my mat directly to the glass and saw an instant improvement. Tank is now up to temp and the stat is doing it's job. The tank did house royals previously and has the sides and backs covered to prevent the snake from stressing. I have already put a towel on top to prevent heat loss. The viv isn't overly large and is only for another 6 months until the royal gets a little bigger- once this happens it's a new viv with ceramic bulb. I bought a pulse stat in readiness for this.
So fingers crossed I'm all sorted. The royal I bought is really nice natured and is totally confident in his/ her self. As you can tell I need to get him/ her sexed although have decided on the name of goldie which I can use from now on.
I will try to get some pics up
Was the poly on top of the mat?or under the mat?I've noticed in my glass vivs,if you set a temp of say..90f.stat will turn mat of at 90f,then back on..
Temp on top of mat will drop to like 84f,As the heat has to travel through the glass again,if that makes sense.
quote:
It doesn't sound suitable for a royal, I'm afraid. A lot of heat's going to escape through the mesh lid, for a start, and all the glass is going to make a shy snake like a royal feel very exposed.
With substrate on top,and under glass,the mat won't heat the air like that anyway.So there won't be anything to escape through the mesh. |
| n/a |
Posted - 15/08/2011 : 12:00:47
Congrats - that's good, everything sounds fine. Glad you got it sorted ok. Also congrats on your new royal! |
| Tylersmatrix |
Posted - 15/08/2011 : 08:44:52
Had a mad dash last night and cut the poly out to stick my mat directly to the glass and saw an instant improvement. Tank is now up to temp and the stat is doing it's job. The tank did house royals previously and has the sides and backs covered to prevent the snake from stressing. I have already put a towel on top to prevent heat loss. The viv isn't overly large and is only for another 6 months until the royal gets a little bigger- once this happens it's a new viv with ceramic bulb. I bought a pulse stat in readiness for this.
So fingers crossed I'm all sorted. The royal I bought is really nice natured and is totally confident in his/ her self. As you can tell I need to get him/ her sexed although have decided on the name of goldie which I can use from now on.
I will try to get some pics up |
| n/a |
Posted - 14/08/2011 : 21:39:30
It doesn't sound suitable for a royal, I'm afraid. A lot of heat's going to escape through the mesh lid, for a start, and all the glass is going to make a shy snake like a royal feel very exposed. I really would recommend a viv with a heat bulb, statted and guarded, but failing that a rub (really useful box) with ventilation holes, with the statted mat beneath the rub, would be preferable, although a rub still doesn't hold the heat if the room isn't warm. Although a rub is opaque, I'd still drape it with a towel, as well as providing hides/cover; and I'd also recommend that with the tank for now; covering up that mesh lid might stop some heat escaping. Yes, as a short term thing, it might be a good idea to remove the poly, also do keep an air gap between the mat and tank bottom, otherwise the mat could overheat, even when statted.
Sorry, really don't mean to criticise by the way - there is so much conflicting info about and some of these enclosures are described as being suitable for all kinds of reptiles when they're not. I had some awful advice when I first started snake keeping and before I discovered the forums ...The care sheet on this forum is good.
All the very best, keep us posted, you'll get there. |
| Evolution Morphs |
Posted - 14/08/2011 : 21:27:43
I would say removing the poly will get you up to temp
You will need to watch and set your stat up again though
Putting the heat mat inside is defiantly a no,no |
| Tylersmatrix |
Posted - 14/08/2011 : 21:25:40
It is a proper reptile tank with sliding doors and mesh lid etc.- probably meant more for lizards maybe? It is hitting 30c when the probe is pretty much on the glass. Do we think it might be best to remove a section of the poly? I will try and find the make and type of the viv |
| Lotabob |
Posted - 14/08/2011 : 20:47:59
Polystrene is an insulator ie heat doesnt easily pass through |
| n/a |
Posted - 14/08/2011 : 20:25:50
Ah. So not the conventional wood viv. Is it a tank? In any case, it does sound like the poly is blocking the heat from the mat. How thick is the poly, because a certain thickness, plus the glass, could potentially cause thermal blocking and overheating, even on a statted mat.
I confess I'm out of my depth here, not knowing about this kind of setup. I know many glass fishtanks have to be set up on poly, but have never heard of this for a snake. Can anyone else advise? |
| Tylersmatrix |
Posted - 14/08/2011 : 19:52:30
The poly is under the glass- sorry I wasn't clear. So I have the snake on aspen which sits on glass with poly/ foam underneath which then has the heat mat attached. I have a thin layer of aspen with the probes pretty much on the glass. The mat is struggling to heat higher than 30c. I know I could put the heat mat in the viv but would prefer not to. |
| n/a |
Posted - 14/08/2011 : 18:41:20
I've never heard of a viv having a polystyrene lining. Is this stuck on by adhesive, or just sheets laid on the floor of the viv? Is the heatmat beneath the polystyrene? If so, the poly will certainly block the heat.
Also (from my VAST experience of **** shovelling/snake wee/mess urrgh! lol!) I really wouldn't have stuff like this in a viv with a snake, as the snake will certainly make a wonderful smelly mess of it. Any liquid will seep underneath and soak in and stink to high heaven!
The best heating for a royal is a lamp - IR or ceramic, guarded and statted, but, in the case of a small royal on a mat in a viv, put the mat on the floor of the viv, put the probe on the mat (cable ties are good for securing probe flex to mat flex) and lay the thinnest layer of substrate, whether this is kitchen roll, aspen or whatever, atop the mat.
Also, where is your thermometer? I use a temp gun so I'm no expert (only on the **** shovelling lol) but I believe the thermometer probe needs to be just atop the substrate? Other people will advise.
Good luck - you'll get there. |
