Reptile & Amphibian Forums

has anyone ever tried attaching a heating pad to say, a piece of slate and laying that IN the cage. sort've like a hot rock, but more natural and safe.

i'm just thinking about cool ideas to make the tank look cooler, and i thought some slate would be nice. like a little heated slate cave or something.
opinions?

I have a piece of black slate in my cage sitting right on top of a UTH and that black slate heats up real nice!! You could also put that black slate under a heat lamp and it will heat up real good also!!

Jason

Yeah I wouldn't put the slate directly on the heating pad, though. You could probably glue some small stones to the bottom of your slate to give some clearance. Depending on the size of your enclosure, you could just incase the heating pad in a slate tomb.

Now, you've got me thinkin' about it. THANKS. lol

my tank has all kinds of vines and stuff for him to climb on as well, so i could use a safe paint and paint the corn green, attach some fake leaves and BAM, no more chord.

Being creative is fun.

I like the "encased in slate" idea.
i could prop it up with a log or something and make a little "lean to" hide type thing.

i have so many ideas!!!

This is a tip that someone gave to me a while back and it works really well.

A method to prevent tank cracking, over heating, and generally promote more even heat (without hot spots) is to not stick your UTH directly on the tank. Instead, stick the UTH to a ceramic or porcelain tile and slide the tile 'under' one end of the tank.

The benefits are:

a) Inexpensive- an 8x10 inch tile is about $1.50 (USD)
b) Prevents a tank from cracking
c) It’s movable- can be used on future tanks
d) Prevents hot spots by allowing airflow between the pad and the glass.
e) It’s easier to clean the cage (moving it etc.)
f) It’s the poor mans thermostat/rheostat. You can lower or raise the tank to increase or decrease heat. All you need are a couple different sized blocks of wood to prop up the tank or heater.