Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi..

I have recently bought an 8 month old uromastyx from a friend of the family.

He came with a 100W light, D3 UV lamp and a heat mat..but the heat mat was loose under the floor of the substrate.

The Lizard used to dig under the substrate and hide under the mat. I figured this could not be doing it any good, and so bought him a proper hide, and placed the heat mat under a false floor made of thin chipboard.

The only problem is that this does not seem to let enough heat through to fully warm the vivarium at night. The warm end is fine...but the cold end of the tank drops to 17C. His hide is in the middle of the tank..so may not be getting enough heat.

What should i do to ensure correct night time temps, but not burn the poor animal during the day? How do you have your heatmats setup?

Thanks

Steve

Thanks

Steve

I don't use any under-tank heat source, but my house is warmer than yours. You might consider getting another light fixture and fit it with a ceramic heat emitter - heat but no light, and no worries about contact burns. You can also give him another hide or two in different areas of the cage so he can choose where he wants to sleep.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
2.1.1 Mali Uros (Spike, Tank, Lilly, and Turtle)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
2.1 Green Anoles (Bowser, Sprocket, Leeloo)
1.1 Felis domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)