Undertank Heater

Deadpool · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 2:48 pm Post subject: Undertank Heater

Ok so I just got one yesterday... wanted to keep my argentine warmer at night and these things were highly reccomended to me. My question is though, is my tegu smart enough to not burn himself? He likes to bury himself obviously, and I felt the very bottom of the tank where the heater is at and its really hot... enough to burn someone. Is he smart enough to not go all the way down to the bottom and get burned? I don't want him hurting himself...

MO · Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2005 5:16 pm Post subject:

I keep mine externally under a wood tank and only on one side. It doesn't get to hot when I touch it but My guy, at least I think it's a guy. loves to hunker down in that area.

drfish · Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 8:58 am Post subject:

Assuming it is outside the tank at the moment, not actually in it.

It is unlikely to be hot enough, even just through glass, to burn him. They are smart enough to know when it's too hot for them, so to be honest, I doubt he would get burnt. Not to say it's impossible however, I have seen almost all lizards readily available in this country, and in nearly all species, I have seen one with a burn, normally either on the legs or back, and stemmed from the heat bulb, not undertank heating. if it dsoes bother you that much tho, why not get a thermostat on it, and regulate the temperature to be around the 85 F/30 C mark.

beardiedragon · Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 3:26 pm Post subject:

You would be surprised at how cold these guys can get and do fine. All my Tegus are housed outdoors. we live in Florida and the lows get to the high 30s. For a few years, I would put heating pads in the Tegu pens for them in the winter. I no longer do that. Now they get 2-3 feet of mulch to dig in. They stay nice and comfy all winter and I dont see them until Feb.

If your tank is indoors, do not put it directly on the floor since that transmits cold. If your tegu is old enough to sleep through the winter it probably wont be a problem. If he stays awake you can put a heating pad under the tank but nothing too hot. If you can put your hand on it and hold it for a few miutes with no discomfort you should be fine.

To be safe, use a digital thermometer with a probe and put the probe at the bottom of the tank and check the temps that way. Check it over the coarse of time to see how it changes.
_________________
Bennett

beardiedragon.com
Home of the Florida Orange