Okay thanks to the advice I recieved here I think I have decided to go with Kane heat mats for an ambient air temperature. I plan to place the mat inside the enclosure under the substrate, does anyone have any opinions on this? Should I be aware of any problems this might cause? Thanks agin for all the help.
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Another Heating question P.S. thanks for the help on th earlier post!
firefighter2598
Jan 25, 2005 10:09 AM
Replies (1)
chris_harper2
Jan 25, 2005 10:49 AM
A Kane heat mat is not the best way to increase ambient air temperatures, at least not without a lot of additional thermal mass. Without thermal mass you're basically providing the equivalent of a hot rock in a cold room.
Same principal as the electric radiant floor heat that is so popular in tiled bathrooms nowadays. If you simply took the electric coils and set them on top of the floor (safety issues nonwithstanding) it would do a very poor job of heating the air.
But when placed in a mortar bed and covered with a thick layer of tile, grout etc. there is sufficient thermal mass for the air to be heated. Basically, the tile, mortar and cement increase the surface area of the heating element.
Another way to increase thermal mass is with moist air (water has excellent thermal mass) but this is not ideal for a Bearded Dragon.
But all is not lost. Some types of sand and rocks have excellent thermal mass and would likely work well in a bearded dragon cage. You'll have to make your substrate decision carefully.
Rocks are an easy choice. I typically place a large rock under the CHE in my dragon's cage - about the size of a soccer ball cut in half. The rock is heated and helps distribute heat throughout the cage. It's out of the cage right now and the temperature gradient has been thrown out of whack.
I'm not saying don't use a Kane mat, they are a very nice product, but make your substrate decision very carefully.
>>Okay thanks to the advice I recieved here I think I have decided to go with Kane heat mats for an ambient air temperature. I plan to place the mat inside the enclosure under the substrate, does anyone have any opinions on this? Should I be aware of any problems this might cause? Thanks agin for all the help.
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Current snakes:
0.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)
3.3 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)
2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)
3.3 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)
