Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had just bought a tub for the baby blood im planning on getting, its the exact one i think you posted in the pic for me before.I think theres going to be a problem with putting heat tape on the bottom because theres plastic ribs all along the bottom of the tub and i dont know if the heat tape will be able to stick or even be able to heat it properally, what did you do to make it work. Next question how many holes do you put in the lid and the sides of the tub? thanks Aaron

WOW, a question just for ME????? Sweet... Man I feel special today.

Yes, the tub I have does have grating on the bottom... but I'm using a heat mat from t-rex, so its not supposed to attach to the bottom. I have to make sure the mat is positioned properly each time I slide the cage out, but it heats just fine. Could you rig something so that the heat tape attaches to something the tub sits on, instead of the tub itself? It actually heats quite well, as the mat itself reaches a max temp of 100 degrees. I have an indoor/outdoor thermometer installed within the cage, and the outdoor probe is attached directly to the bottom of the inside of the tub near her favorite hide. This way I'm able to watch the max and min temps of the surface that she's laying on, and adjust my thermostat accordingly. For instance, when the house started getting warmer (its springtime after all), the temps on the high side got a little warmer than I wanted, and I was able to recognize it and make adjustments . If I were to do it over again I think I'd get a rheostat instead of a thermostat, just to get less variation in temps.

I have 6 holes drilled on the long sides, and 3 on the short sides. About a week after I set it up, my humidity was still high, so I also have 4 holes drilled on each side of the lid. I found that the amount of water in the mulch regulates the humidity more than anything I did with the tub, so I just leave the lid open whenever I'm in my office the first few days until the appropriate humidity is reached. I generally change the mulch before it ever dries out completely. You may have to adjust your own setup as well, depending on what you use for substrate.

The tub has actually been quite nice. Its sturdy, locks, and while its larger than what was recommended to me for a baby, mine has done superb. I think the hides make all the difference. She's almost 9 months now and if I'd had anything smaller I would have had to upgrade already. I'm hoping I can keep this setup for another six months... but we shall see.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask... I'll keep an eye out.

Thanks for your help, i planning using a t-rex heat mat and a thermostat so i can get the exact heating right, one question what size mat did tou use?thanks aaron

I think its the 20 gallon size??? Since I'm regulating the temps closely, I have it so that it pretty much covers the entire bottom of the cage. It measures (the actual heating part, there's more plastic around it) about 16 inches by 10 inches....

Misskiwi, do you mean you'd rather have bought a thermostat instead of a rheostat? A thermostat should hold steady at whatever you set it at. A rheostat (dimmer) you'd have to change as the ambient temp changes. I just don't want to confuse him/her.

Maybe I don't know the word for what I have and what I'd want...

I want something that would maintain the temps at a constant steady 84 degrees.

What I have right now turns the heat mat on (which heats to 100 degrees) when the temp sensor gets to 82ish, and turns the heat mat off when the sensor gets to about 88ish. So yeah, overall the temps are probably right where I want them MOST of the time.... but it still fluctuates. If I were to do it over again, I'd get something that would heat the heat mat to 84 degrees and have it stay that temperature day and night.