|
26-11-2006, 06:15 PM
|
|||
|
|||
Royal Set Up Advice Needed
I am currently in the process of setting up a new tak for a Royal.
I have a 36" viv and plan to use a heat mat to heat one end of the tank. When speaking to one or two people, they have sugested that I use a ceramic heat bulb to heat the enclosure rather than a heat mat! Does anyone else feel that a ceramic heat bulb would be better at heating the tank opposed to a heat mat? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks 
|
|
26-11-2006, 06:20 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
ive always used ceramics for my royals and never had any problem. i use a pulse stat for contollability and have it set for day/night temperature. The heats very stable too. Just make sure you guard it well
Thats just my personal choice though 
__________________
|
|
26-11-2006, 06:33 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
@ captaincaveman
what do you use to guard your bulb?
|
|
26-11-2006, 06:34 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Heat mats are ok for heating plastic tubs for royals, but for a proper viv you ideally need a ceramic.
A heat mat won't heat the air enough in a royal viv but a ceramic will do this no problem - 100w should be ok for a 3ft viv. Just don't forget to use heat resisitant mains cable! I use these fittings rather than the hanging type: http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?...12m6&source=15 Much more compact than the hanging ones so you should be able to get away with a normal sized guard. Also, cheap pulse stat: http://www.camzoo.co.uk/pd1523480994.htm?categoryId=12
|
|
26-11-2006, 07:27 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I've heard that some people like to use heat mats as they keep the viv floor warm (which is where royals spend a lot of their time) which aids digestion.
I've never used ceramic though so not sure about them. They seem to be getting ever more popular though in larger vivs. I'll prob give one ago once my snake is an adult. Can anybody else who knows much about them confirm how far they can radiate head for. As in if I had one on the top of a 3 feet tall arboral viv would it allow me to have basking spot half way up the tank??? Hope I'm not hijacking the thread. Just wanted a bit extra info on ceramics so thought I may as well keep it with this one.
__________________
1.0.0 Jungle Carpet Python, Brian (CB 06) 1.0.0 Lodger, little Bro (CB 81) 
|
|
26-11-2006, 07:42 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Thing is with mats and royals, the mat will only warm a localised area of the floor so you still need some other type of heating to heat the air.
Also, heavy bodied snakes such as royals are more prone to burns from mats so the mat would need to be guarded in some way (false floor, tiles, etc). Easier to set up a ceramic IMO. I've only used ceramics in vivs up to 24" high (with the face of the ceramic being about 5" or so lower) - in this setup a 100w ceramic easily gave a warm spot of 90F at floor level, so would certainly give a basking spot halfway down a 3ft high viv.
|
|
26-11-2006, 09:21 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
i use these(the tube is just an occasional viewing light and not uv)  they cause the whole viv to heat right down to floor level and ive got a good gradient there too
__________________
|
|
26-11-2006, 10:22 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Thats makes it a lot clearer for me, ceramic bulb heating is the way to go.
Thanks for all of the advice.
|
|
26-11-2006, 11:50 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
I've got a heat mat that covers about 1/3 of the floor, and a heat light controlled by a dimmerstat at the same end as the mat, the bulb helps to keep the air temp right as well as the floor, the bulb needs to be turned off at night so the snake has a proper photoperiod(night/day)
|
 |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Linear Mode
