Heatmats and plastic tanks

[infiltraitor]

Hi all,

We've only just got our first snail - a young albino retic and he seems a pretty happy, hungry and active chap. We've got him in a large Pals Pen, though there's a cheap aquarium I bought upstairs for when he's a bit bigger.

Ambient room temperature is good at the moment, around 24 degrees, though I'm currently slightly worried about when the colder weather hits; not far away by the feel of things.

I'm trialling a small heat mat setup that's currently taped to the outside at one end, with a foil-covered piece of 12mm polystyrene sheet behind it to reflect the heat in. There's quite a bit of heat coming through the side, and it's giving about a +3 degree pickup to that end of the tank when switched on. We've also got a tank stat that I can attach should the temperature get too high (I don't think I'll need it for this mat!)

So finally the question; is this setup going to be sufficient through the winter, or should I be trying to drill holes in the tank side to allow the heat through better, or maybe mount the heat mat internally some how?

All advice greatly appreciated.

[feebix]

Hello ! That should be ok but if it does get really cold and you notice your snail is going into hibernation, the trick is have the tank in a warm room as well as having it heated. I put polystirene under my tanks last year it got that cold. Also, there needn`t be much in the way of air gaps really, and the less there is, the better you`ll be able to heat your tank. Humid air holds heat better than non humid air too, cor that`s like a tongue twister lol A decent depth of compost is good too, I have three inches and more, and a nice big pile if sphagnum moss at the warm end, saying that, since I put a huge pile in my largest tank they haven`t come out of it ! lol Oh one more thing, I do a similar thing to you with the poltstrene and foil, but do you have that backed up against a wall or something? Because that seems to make a huge difference. Looking forward to seeing a picture of your snail !

[infiltraitor]

Thanks for the reply.

I've measured the heat coming through the side of the tank with an IR heat gun and I'm getting about 55 degrees - is that too hot for the little guy do you think?

I'll source some more polystyrene to place the tank on - thanks for the tip, the back of the tank is curved so it'll might be a little bit hard to get it up against the wall.

As for pics; this one is about our favourite one of him at the moment ;D -

[AlienSnail]

Hiya

55^oC seems a bit high, was this measured directly on the area where the heat mat is? Out of interest what are the measurements around the other areas of the tank?

Personally I've found for retics there should be a temperature gradient of 26-32^oC around the tank, with at least some of the substrate feeling warm to the touch.

If your snail is active in the evenings, usually sleeps without retracting all the way into the shell, eats well and has new shell growth then your snail is almost certainly happy with it's conditions.

[infiltraitor]

Sounds as though he is a happy snail then

I've switched the mat off since, so can't give you readings around the tank just yet, though that 55^oC was measured directly at the point the mat is attached.

It's a Habistat heat strip and they're meant to heat by all three heating methods; I'm not sure if that would skew the readings of an IR gun but it certainly is quite warm to the touch at that point inside the tank.

I've just measured all around with the mat off, and I'm getting a pretty consistent 22^oC everywhere, so maybe I'll switch it back on then if they prefer it warmer.

I'm just hoping in the wild these snails are sensible enough to keep off of hot things, and that the little fella will keep clear of a hot spot on the side of his tank.

[serug]

Try covering the holes over the area with the heat mat ( presumably you have it at one end of the tank, if not this is advisable ) place a small water bowl ( very shallow ( dependant on mollusk size )) at the end with the heat mat as Retics are known for loving a bath and drinking from a bowl. This will also create a very humid enviroment at one end of your tank and a nice cool area by the air holes at the other end of the tank, so if he gets too hot he will move away from the heat source.

Of the snails i known to cook themselves ( literally ) A.Reticulata are not one of them although ithers may have had different experiences.

Regards
Serug nifla

[infiltraitor]

Thanks for the suggestion Serug - I'll try that :thumb:

[feebix]

That`s a really nice picture that Nice angle... Taking temperature readings from around the tank would be better as Aliensnail says, taking a reading from the mat itself doesn`t tell you how hot the environment is... He does sound happy enough though doesn`t he...

[serug]

ither = other - very sorry for my putrid spelling attempt above peopl.

[infiltraitor]

I've got a quick tip here, useful for insulating the back of a heat mat attached to a curved tank.

As you can see, even when Sampson's heat mat was mounted on the less curvy back of his tank I still have to use a long strip of unsightly tape to try and keep the 12mm polystyrene, tin foil and heat mat sandwich attached -



Things didn't improve much when I shifted the arrangement to the more curvy end of his tank, with even more tape required (no pics of that fortunately ;D)

So ever the one to improve things, I've been on the lookout for some thinner stuff to use.

In a DIY shop at the weekend, I found this -



Radiator Reflective Foam




It's already got a foil attached to it, and built up in layers (I think) it looks alot neater on your tank -



I might have to add a couple more layers yet; it's still work in progress but it's looking good so far

[AlienSnail]

Thanks for the tip

Radiator insulator/reflector seems like a great adea.

[choco]

Reflective radiator insulation is exactly what I use on my heatmats, and it works great

[infiltraitor]

Sept 22, 2009 23:57:19 GMT choco said:

Reflective radiator insulation is exactly what I use on my heatmats, and it works great

I thought I could see the same stuff on your tank from the pics you posted in your 'unusuals' thread yesterday.

Do you have many layers of the stuff behind your mat?

[choco]

Sept 23, 2009 19:16:42 GMT infiltraitor said:

Sept 22, 2009 23:57:19 GMT choco said:

Reflective radiator insulation is exactly what I use on my heatmats, and it works great

I thought I could see the same stuff on your tank from the pics you posted in your 'unusuals' thread yesterday.

Do you have many layers of the stuff behind your mat?

I usually use two layers behind each mat, but my tanks are glass so the heat already conducts fairly well into the tank... you might find you need another layer or two for the heat to get through plastic more effectively.

[crossless]

Hmm.. I bought today heatmat for my snails. I placed between tank and towel that against a wall. Does it take long the matt warm up whole? Before new tank now heat lamps are useless 'cos lid do not allowing much heat go inside of tank.

Hmmh.. I noticed glass in warm so I taped mat tightly on glass with tape and put towel back. I hope see before bed time does it warm enough or too much, so snails won't cook up while I'm sleeping