Newbie question - T-Rex Cobra Heat Mats for enclosure

[gatorball]

Hello - Just found the forums and wanted to get some advice on our new Ball Python that my teenage son brought home.

The snake is a 32 inch female (we think) and we are keeping her in a 29 gallon glass aquarium lined with Aspen bedding.

I just purchased a T-Rex Cobra Heat Mat that we had planned to use under the glass aquarium but I'm concerned about a fire risk. The aquarium is sitting on top of a pine aquarium stand and there is about 2.5 inches of clearance under the tank. The heat mat would be under the glass aquarium, laying on top of ceramic tile but inside of the wooden aquarium stand...without any airflow to speak of.

Can I safely house the Cobra Heat Mat under the tank in this space or should I adhere it to the side wall of the aquarium?

This is my primary concern at the moment. I'm just worried that it might get too hot inside the wooden stand especially since the Cobra instructions say that the heat mat throws off heat from both sides.

Any suggestions?

[saber2th]

You should be fine, just make sure you use some type of thermostat or rheostat. You need to control the temp of the heat mat or you could injure the snake. A lot of people (myself included) use Flexwatt heat tape and have it taped right to melamine shelves. You want a hot spot around 92 for ball pythons. I don't think that will cause any problems. The mat should of come with little rubber feet that you put on the bottom of the tank frame so it has some air exchange and to keep the frame off the cord.

Hope this helps!

Oh, and welcome to the site! Please research on this site much as possible! Everything you need to know, you will find on here! Sometime you just have to look!

[steveboos]

Yeah just don't plug it straight into the wall, use a dimmer switch, rheostat, or thermostat(preferably) to control it. I have flexwatt on melamine that gets about 105 and no issues. But at 150 degrees, a heat mat could cause issues. There shouldn't be any fire risk and the gap on the tank it enough to block all the heat. The main issue is when you put a flat bottom cage with heat mat and stand underneath with no air space. I had a pad get up to 230 degrees this way and melt my cage.

[gatorball]

Thanks for the replies -

We were given an old Zoo Med UTH that lost its adhesive properties and were using it under the tank but it doesn't throw enough heat to do anything...that is why I purchased the Cobra mat. As a temporary fix we had a rubber hot water bottle that we were filling at night and leaving in there. The snake would be wrapped around it sometimes. Just trying to get things right!

If I attached the Cobra mat to the side of the tank rather than using it underneath, would that also work?

[Amp625]

get a herpstat

[Tzeentch]

Attatching the heat pad to the side of the tank will not be beneficial to the snake. They need belly heat.