Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Using an under tank heater for my Florida King. We were afraid of how hot the glass was getting right above it, if she burrows into the aspen in that location. We tried a dimmer but weren't satisfied with the temps on the warm end of the tank.

We also put a piece of slate over the heater, which does warm up but not satisfactorily.

Will reptile carpet under the aspen make a nice buffer that would prevent her from getting burned, but still conduct enough heat from the UTH to warm that end of the tank okay?

Thanks.

I very much suggest that you use a thermostat or else keep a dimmer on the device. It doesn't hurt to have one on the heater even if you hardly use it.

Cage carpet does provide a reasonable barrier. It doesn't stop the glass from getting hot, but it does protect what is above the glass. However, if the snake gets under the cage carpet (which kingsnakes do) then the problem is not solved.

Here are other various tricks that have been used:

1. Put aluminum sheeting (like roof flashing) between the heater and glass. If the heater is the stick-on kind, peel it off (without bending it too much) and put the aluminum flashing on the heater sticky-side. Then use aluminum foil tape to tape the heater onto the glass.

or

2. Make the aspen layer very thin, and use lots of hides. Then the heater can be dimmed to taste. Thick layers of aspen just insulate the glass and cause it to get hot.

or

3. Forget the aspen and go with newspaper, then the dimmer will be effective.
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Mark

I like your idea with the repti-carpet, and in fact have used that set-up with my 40-gallon breeder tank for a number of years. I have a yearling Florida King in there now with that, a pre-cut sized piece that fits over the entire bottom perfectly. Never had my Cal King slide underneath once in over 7 years with this in place, and I have a digital thermometer with a probe right over the carpet between the aspen bedding to make sure the temp is right. Can't beat it in my opinion, just need to make changes of the carpet periodically (maybe twice a year) to ensure the health of the snake. Jim