Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, My wife and I are getting our first sanke in a few days and are trying to set everything up right for him/her. I've been reading that the kane heating mats are the best, but I have a question about them.
The tank that I'm going to be using is a lizard lounge with the bottom deminsions of 17x35. the closest thing I could find is a 18x28. Will this work even with a little overlap on the side? Any suggestions? Does my heat mat need to actually cover the whole bottom? Also, do I have to have some kind of thermostate to regulate the heat, or will it keep it about the right temp. without one?
I may have some more ??? later, but let's just start with this one.
Thanks,
Micah

Forgot to mention, we're getting a Ball python (if that matters).

I may have misread your post, did you want the heat mat to cover the entire bottom of the tank? What you might want to try is a smaller heat pad. Snakes, including ball pythons like to have a bit of a temperature gradient...one area toasty & another area a little cooler. Heat pads will run a lot less than a kane heat mat & with the money you save you can get a thermostat to plug it into. I use a little Alife 1000 watt thermostat, there are better but this one works well for the $25 I paid for it! Don't forget the hide areas for your new snake.

... use metal foil tape. I cover 1/2 the bottom of the tank including the heat pad with this. It creates a much better gradient. After doing this I use a temp gun or probe thermometer to check the temps after a few hours. Then I add more heat tape or take away some until I get the gradient I want. Home depot / Lowes usually sells it. It also makes the heat pad/tape more efficient. I can't remember which section I found it in.

As always, you should have a thermostat. Heat pads & tapes can occasionally go haywire and get really hot & a thermostat will protect your snake from this.
-----
(¯`·.¸¸.·´Kane`·.¸¸.·´¯)

I recently bought foil tape and I found it in the electrical department of my local Home Depot.

So what your saying is that I can use a smaller size mat, maybe half as big as the bottom of my tank on one side. Then overlap the foil tape over the mat and the unheated part? Would I need another source of heat for part of the tank that doesn't have a mat underneath (ceramic heater, heat lamp), or would the mat on one side of the tank be enough to to get the temp. around what I would need for the whole tank?
Also, I believe I've got the hiddy holes taken care of, I took a diaper wipe box, turned it upside down and put the expanding foam over the surface. Then took a slightly textured earthtone paint and put on it for cosmetics. I read on the cans of paint and foam to find out if it was toxic after drying and could find nothing saying it was. Also took a butter bowl and did the same thing on the surface and lid. I'm going to cut a hole in the top for it to get into, hide and soak in water. I also have a good size rock dish for open water soaking, and a couple climbing trees in the aquarium that I will use. I'm thinking of using bark for the bottom. What do you guys think?

You really have to set it up and check temps. The type of enclosure, openings, room temperature etc... all will affect it. I find I need two in all my converted aquariums. Sm one on cool side & larger one on hot side.
-----
(¯`·.¸¸.·´Kane`·.¸¸.·´¯)