Here are some guidelines.
How to set up a heat mat for reptiles.
One of the most important parts of your reptile set up is correctly using your reptile heat pad.
Heat mats are prone to getting extremely hot when unregulated which can cause burns on our pets.
Thermostats are incredibly important devices for keeping reptiles.
When setting up your new reptile pet there are many things that have to be done in the proper order.
This is also an important component to preventing burns on your furniture so keep that in mind as well.
A snake heat mat setup is straightforward.
They have been designed specifically for use with reptiles.
How to set up a heating pad for a snake.
For my purposes i use one 50 watt daytime bulb.
Simply stated you provide a gradient by providing heat at one end of a terrarium or enclosure.
Technically they produce ultra long wavelength infra red heat.
Heat lighting may not be necessary depending on the temperature requirements of your animal and the heat output of your heating mat.
On our care sheets we mention thermostats a lot because these are a vital piece of equipment when keeping snakes.
So first up setting up a thermostat for your heat mat.
How to set up a heat mat and thermostat.
Follow the instructions to set the thermostat to the optimum warm end temperature for your snake.
This produces a natural gradient where it is warmer at.
Heat mats produce a gentle heat that under normal use will not burn your animal.
The standard piece of equipment used to heat a vivarium is a heat mat.
How to set up a thermal gradient.
Whether you use heat mats basking lights heat lamps ceramic heating elements or a combination of these they should all be placed at one end of the tank.
This set up allows for a basking zone of around 90 degrees f and a cool zone about 73 degrees f.
Plug the heat mat into the thermostat.
Heat lighting should be added above the heat mat on the hot side.