I am setting up for an African House Snake - to be acquired at some point in the new year.
We have a 12"x12"x12" exo-terra tank left over from use with garden snails which should do for while it is small.
I am planning on purchasing the 24"x18"x18" tank (Exo-terra again) when needed.
From what I read, most AHS never grow bigger than 2 or 3 feet... so that size would be sufficient, no?

I was looking at the 9.8" x 5.9" (10 Watts) IntelliTemp heat mat as an in-tank heater.
I would be using river rocks and potted plants as substrate(that's the plan at this point anyway).
It would be hooked up to the Herp Power Proportional Thermostat or something equivalent (haven't got anything but the tank yet)

That said, I have 3 questions about it:
1. Would it be enough to create 32 Celcius temps on the hot end? The room fluctuates between maybe 13 and 26 degrees? depending on the season and other factors...
the 13 could be adjusted closer to 20 by a room heater (I have one running during the day for my plants) but I would prefer to avoid running it 24hrs a day if possible...

2. Would it be safe? Fire-hazard? Burn-the-snake hazard?

3. Is it an appropriate size for a 1'x1'x1' tank... i.e. would it allow for a suitable temp-gradient in such a small tank. And would it still work for the 2'x1'6"x1'6" tank?

Please? Anyone?

Hello,

You probably didn't get many responses because most people don't know this answer.

The long and short of it is that we would not be capable of knowing if that were adequate. You would need to test it out and allow 24-48 hours of regulation time and check the temps.

Until you posted the links, I had never heard of these heat mats. Heat maps are designed to offer belly heat and not to heat the ambient air in the enclosure.

These mats claim to project heat like the sun, so I don't know if thay actually push enough heat and warm the air as well.

I also don't know the answers to your other questions because I have no experience with those particular heat mats.

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I know a member here has used them, I've seen them in her enclosure. Blackjack I think did for her Brazilian Rainbow Boa. I can give you some info on other heat mats though.

Zoo-Med, cheap, and cause hot spots. They dont give an even form of heat.

Exo-Terra, this pad I liked. It was small and heated the tanks well.

Cobra, Great heat pads, a bit more for the money, but they are really just Flexwatt wired and sealed nice for you.

Flexwatt, I only use this now, great if you know what your doing with it. If not it will cause alot of problems. This one surely needs a stat on it if not youll have roasted herps.

Anyone else can add about the heat pads that youve used. Give him a good idea on the different brands.

And heat rises so it heats the bottom of the glass and slowly will heat the rest of thank. Will take longer, but it will.

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Ah, okay. It seemed that for most of the big-name products there were several people who had something to say about them, so I just assumed these would be the same.

I was thinking that a fixture would heat such a small tank to an even temperature, where-as a heat mat might be better at providing a gradient.
And for efficiency's sake, as the room can get quite cold in the winter, I'd prefer to have the heater in the tank, rather than under it .
That one looked well insulated against water, and small-ish enough for the tank, so I thought I'd ask here about it.

Do I sound like I'm on the right track?
You'll have to excuse me, I've never set up a heated terrarium before.

Yes, if you could, call big apple and see what they have to say about the pad. If you put it in the tank, make sure the animal will not get into contact with the pad.Separate it with a piece of tile or something of the sort.

You are right about the gradient though.

Another thing you can do is get some insulation, the foam board kind, and put it under the tank for the winter months.

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