Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Could you gives me some suggestions? I have about 18 square feet covered in 1 foot deep dirt and im not really sure how to heat it.

I was considering burying a large heat pad of some sort (even the largest arent nearly large enough) but im afraid the monitor (Blackthroat) will dig and come into contact with it.

What do you guys do?
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"From my rotting body flowers shall grow, and i them - and that is eternity."

i just got back from d n j and i asked how to heat up the bottom of my rough neck cage they said buy the biggest heat pad cover it with a sheet of plex glass so the animal cant come in contact. hope this helps

I found that using heatpads(hog blankets) for heating substrate or nesting, to be awful, totally awful.

I have found that keeping the dirt room temp(70F-80F) is the way to go. Those temps along with areas normally heated to provide a hotspot are fine.

Heat pads, seem to be mechanically unfit for this type of task, they heat the imediate area touching the pad, very hot, then lose heat very quickly. This means a large monitor will have some areas that are very hot and others that are still cold. This is a recipe for burns. Good luck FR

I have never even thought of heating the dirt. I thought they warmed up by going to the basking spot, and that they could cool off some when they burrow down deep.
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Ed

There are chameleons, pythons, and monitors in my jungle room.

Many people keep their monitors in basements and other cold places. Even here in Az. I insulate all nesting cages from the ground, as even here in the winter the ground temps are too cold for monitors.

So I heat the room to the temps I mentioned and keep nesting cages off the ground or insulated from the ground. FR

Thanks for the imput guys. Means a lot.

I failed to take into account that the floor itself is heated. But apparently it makes a huge difference. The dirt is now anywhere between 73-77 so thats excellent.

Air temps are good too, slightly low and the hotspot needs to be raised but thats easily fixed with an extra heat lamp. Hopefully ill be able to move the monitor in there tomorow.

Once again, thanks guys.
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"From my rotting body flowers shall grow, and i them - and that is eternity."