Is he pushing against the top? If he's surfing the sides/top and appearing like he's trying to get out, then likely it's something wrong with the husbandry and/or hungry (in which case, if he's not eating, there's something wrong with that aspect). Heat tape will raise the ambient like maaaybe one degree, but yeah, it doesn't do much.


  • A space heater, I believe, will work even if he's on an upper shelf. The thing is those tend to be more on the expensive side of heating options, and they tend to heat the whole room rather than one small area.
  • If you can, raising your house/apartment/etc.'s thermostat by one or two degrees will help (or switch from cold to hot, if it has that setting and will still be tolerable to you). If you can do that, that would be the best solution.
  • Otherwise you can rig up a CHE (ceramic heat emitter, like a heat lamp but without the light emission) with a thermostat/dimmer, but it can suck up humidity a lot (though, in my opinion, it's easier to raise humidity than it is to raise temperature).
  • RHPs (radiant heat panel) are very good, but not feasible in a 6qt (they generally require a little extra work to put in tubs, and only for the big tubs that can withstand high temperatures since there's enough room to safely have it running; typically they're meant for things like pvcs).


OVERALL, if you can, I'd see if raising your household heat a little bit works.