Is 24 degrees ok?

minimagic · #1 01-03-2012, 02:35 AM

I know a few have said Underwoodisaurus dont need heating but if my temp is dropping to 24 degrees C with heatpad at night is this warm enough? He seems to be doing fine and eating well which is good. Also should I be misting at night Terrarium is dry on the scale. No moist hide provided.
Cheers

nephrurus1 · #2 01-10-2012, 09:32 PM

24C at night is fine for milii. In their natural environment, they cope with temps below 10C during the cooler months without any problems, so I wouldn't be concerned.
Out of interest how do you have your heat pad set up, and where are you reading the temp from?
I keep all my geckos in glass terrariums, fitted with under tank heat (UTH)pads attached to thermostats. I read the temp on the inside of the glass directly above the heat pad. Keep in mind that the depth of your substrate will impact your temp readings depending on where you are taking them from.
WRT keeping a moist area, milii need a permanent moist area. It aids shedding. In your set up, you should have a cool end and warm end. The cool end should be kept moist (spray every couple of days during warmer months and to a lesser extent during the cooler months).

minimagic · #3 01-10-2012, 10:21 PM

thankyou for your reply

i have a Exo Terra heat pad 1/3 size in back corner with hide over the top (not moist though) coconut fibre a few inches thick thoroughout. has a hide at other end (cool hide). However I dont have a thermostae attached as shop never said I had to?

so it is on 24/7 atm! The temp on the substrate on top of the heatpad is 30 degreesC.

nephrurus1 · #4 01-10-2012, 11:37 PM

I'm guessing you are probably using a 7watt (or there abouts) exo terra heat mat? Even though these are a relatively low wattage, they can still heat up. I would keep a careful eye on the temp. I use a few different brands of heat pads and find that even with the smaller ones (ie 7watt) the temp inside a terrarium above the heat mat can be 40+C. This is too hot especially for milii. If you find the temp is getting over 30C I would be looking to attach a thermostat. Alternatively there is a brand of heat mats available in Australia (Repta Pet) that come with a thermostat already attached. You can pick up a 7watt model for $AUS60-70. They have a manual thermostat dial attached which takes a little bit of adjustment to get the right temp, but once set up, they seem to work quite well.
Cheers
Phil

minimagic · #5 01-11-2012, 07:53 AM

the cheapest thermostat I have found is $100? I have just setup a second tank with a Reptiles Australia 7watt heat mat with a natural sand substrate. Is there anything wrong with using a 24hr timer for the heatmat? It recommends putting on a 15 min on 15 min off timer? I havent looked into the price of 24hr timers yet but if they are cheaper is there anything wrong with this setup? Already noticed a massive difference in temp of the sand over the heatmat and the sand on the cool end! compaired to the coconut fibre that is

Im presuming this is better for him than the coconut stuff? I looks a ton better

nephrurus1 · #6 01-11-2012, 06:51 PM

A timer is not an effective way to regulate a heat mat. You could for example use a timer to turn your mat off during the warmest period of the day. However, when a timer is on, it will not prevent a heat pad from getting hot. Most manufacturers of heat pads will recommend they are used in conjunction with a thermostat. This is for the safety of your reptiles. I would highly recommend you use a thermostat.
$AUS100 is about right for a thermostat. You can get some for a little less than that. The type of thermostat will also impact on price (ie on-off vs pulse types). As i mentioned earlier, if you are not wanting to spend on a thermostat and only have the one tank at the moment, consider getting a heat mat with an in built thermostat at the very least. If you are planning on expanding your collection, then an independent thermostat will be more efficient as if set up correctly can be used to regulate multiple cages.
Sand is a better option than the coconut fibre, and you will notice a big difference in temperature above the heat mat.
Hope this helps.

minimagic · #7 01-12-2012, 03:05 AM

ok so I need a thermostate that I can use on 2 heatmats as I have two enclosures. I set up second enclosure and temp in the sand over the mat is 40 degrees!!!!!

cool end 27 degrees. Noone in there just wanted to know that temp would be in new setup. Sand has made a big difference which is making me worry about leaving mat turned on all day (whilst i have no thermostate) with outdoor temps of 35 degrees room is 27. Ive turned everything off? I will look at getting a thermostate on the weekend

until then no heat is provided to Thicktail other than the room heat of 27 in the day and im guessing above 20 at night.
Please note however that the sand in the Thicktails enclosure does not get over 30. The 40 temp is the new unocupied enclosure with the Reptiles Australia 7watt mat.

nephrurus1 · #8 01-12-2012, 07:24 PM

Hey Minimagic,
Keep in mind that if you are looking to use a thermostat to control your two enclosures, they need to be fairly well identical in their set up. Your terrariums should be similar. If they floor is a different thickness this will result in different temperatures in the two enclosures when attached to the one thermostat. Similarly, you need to ensure you are using the same substrate and the same thickness of substrate in your enclosures. I would also recommend using the same heat mat, as different brands of heat mat even if the same wattage can emit different heat levels.
You have said that you are getting different temps between your two enclosures already (I'm assuming you now have sand at the same depth in both) ie a max temp of 30 using your exoterra heat mat in your milii set up and 40+C in your empty enlcosure with your Reptiles Australia heat mat then attaching a thermostat which will have only a single probe will not end up giving you the same temp in both your enclosures.
Hope this makes sense?

minimagic · #9 01-13-2012, 07:14 AM

yes you are correct in your second paragraph as to my 2 setups

exo terra mat not getting as hot at the other mat. just to be safe whilst im at work all day and have no thermostate till weekend i have reverted to basking lamp at one end and turned mat off. temp 27 on his basking rock. shaded cool end few degrees cooler inside his cool hide.
When you use heat pads that dont stick to the bottom do you use styrafoam under the pad?? this is what is said on the instructions and so i have set it up this way. Will this be what is making it so hot (40C) as my exo terra is one that sticks on the bottom and has a good 1/2 inch of ventilation under it to the cabinet? Sorry for so many questions!!

nephrurus1 · #10 01-14-2012, 09:08 AM

No worries about questions. That's how you find out.
The styroform is most likely causing the difference.
If your Reptiles Australia doesn't adhere to the bottom of you tank, is there a clear plastic edge around it?? If so, you could use a strong sticky tape to attach it to the bottom of your tank. That way you would have the same set up. I'm not personally a big fan of styroform or polystyrene under heat mats. I prefer to give some ventilation, and that works well with the exoterra tanks that have the gap underneath. Others will disagree with this, but I have found that works best for me.