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Heat mat in a wooden viv

Make sure it's inside, on the floor, with a thin layer of substrate. The stat probe would go on the mat (you can use a glue gun or similar to secure it if necessary).
 
For optimal protection, you'd really want something that's harder to burn/ignite between the wood floor and the heat mat. And you'll probably want something moderately heat conductive on top of the mat, to both help disperse the heat better and prevent your snake from potential burning. For even more protection, however you set it up, you should consider attempting to waterproof that area with a silicone or bathroom caulk or even just a really strong foil tape or something.

My personal plan is to get some pegboard or tile, sandwich the heatmat between a couple layers, then caulk up the edges and control temp on the tile. But i haven't gotten the supplies to pull it off yet.
 
I have a large wooden viv made with 18mm plywood coated heavily on the inside with some kind of marine paint. I had a heater under the wood initially and it worked okay but in the interest of saving energy I cut out that part of the wood and replaced it with a piece of 7mm plastic (Lexan). After that I was able to turn down the thermostat some and keep the same temp as before under the substrate. The bulb for the thermostat is on top of the plastic and it also keeps the temp in a smaller range than when the heater was under wood (26.5°C-29°C).
 
Yeah, forgot there's always the option of cutting the section out and replacing with plexi or lexan. I'm not that craftcapable myself, which would be why I didn't think to suggest it.
 
Took me a minute but now I understand Alan measurments. LOL

Agree with all!

You should try to protect the mat incase it overheats.
 
Lennycorn said:
Took me a minute but now I understand Alan measurments. LOL
Click to expand...
I converted and adjusted, Dave. It's a UK thread and there's an app for that ;)

To secure the plastic I made it bigger than the hole and put it on top of the wood. I used stainless steel flat head wood screws countersunk into the plastic with silicone-based sealant under the edge.

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Thts kl mate hope this isnt a silly question but y do you have 2 heat mats ?


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With the length of the enclosure, it probably takes two to keep the warm side effectively warm. Or possibly he just had two smaller ones available to use. If I couldn't find the 11"x29" I would have had to get 2 smaller ones to heat enough of my 5' enclosure. Still might, but hoping 11x29 covers enough ground.
 
Yep, kind of both reasons. One bigger one would have been enough but I would have had to buy that. I had a small one so I just bought another small one.
If I redid it I would buy the right size Ultratherm from The Bean Farm.
 
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