Heat rock with cloth?

[Mattalie]

Ik heat rocks are a big no but i dont have a heat source without a light to keep the tank warm at night . Would using a heat rock with a hand towel or two over it be okay to use? (Id tape them on the bottom so they wouldnt slide off)

 

[TEAMGREEN5252]

you can get under tank heating pads which is a much safer route to go and they work great....i have them for my snakes.

 

[Mattalie]

Yea but i have slate tile instead of sand and stuff like that so it wouldnt work

 

[TEAMGREEN5252]

Sure it would its still gonna heat the tile and actually better then if there was sand. The tile will actually heat up and hold the heat more effective as where sand would insulate the heat from reaching the surface. Your idea of covering the heat rock is very crafty to avoid harm to your dragon and i cant really say much for or against the heat rocks as I have no personal exp using them.

 

[ravenwolf]

if lights aren't an option a heatmat on a thermostat is a much safer option, or you could use a red light to keep an ambient temp but not give out daylight

 

[Mattalie]

Yea red lights are known to disrupt beardie sleep because they give off alot of light

 

[Jon Macintosh]

Ik heat rocks are a big no but i dont have a heat source without a light to keep the tank warm at night . Would using a heat rock with a hand towel or two over it be okay to use? (Id tape them on the bottom so they wouldnt slide off)

Why is it that you are concernced with keeping the tank heated at night?
Does your room temperature fall below 65-70 degress?

During the "night hours" a beareded dragon does not need heat above those temperatures.
"At night it is important that the dragon is able to slow down their metabolism to a resting state, so the temps should be from 70ºF to 80ºF. No lights or heat should be used at night unless the temps drop below 60ºF."

 

[davedragon10]

Beardies cant feel heat on there bellys. Thats y heat rock are no good.

 

[Jon Macintosh]

Beardies cant feel heat on there bellys. Thats y heat rock are no good.

This is correct in some aspects, but taken in another way it can be misconstrued.

For a clearer understanding, Bearded Dragons cannot "sense" heat through their underside.
They sense heat (and light) through a scale on the top of their head (known as a "third" or parietal eye).

The reason why heat rocks are not recommended is because bearded dragon's undersides are much more senstive than their scaly parts - meaning it is very easy for them to become burnt without realizing it.

But again, as iterated above, unless the room temperatures fall below 65-70ºF there should be no direct heat source during the "night hours".

 

[Mattalie]

Why is it that you are concernced with keeping the tank heated at night?
Does your room temperature fall below 65-70 degress?

During the "night hours" a beareded dragon does not need heat above those temperatures.
"At night it is important that the dragon is able to slow down their metabolism to a resting state, so the temps should be from 70ºF to 80ºF. No lights or heat should be used at night unless the temps drop below 60ºF."

Yea...its winter....

 

[Red007]

Hello I'm new here and am in the same boat. My house can get into the 50's at night. I do not run the gas heaters in my home while I'm asleep. I stumbled across this forum trying to find a solution to this problem. I too have slate. I will try the heating pad, before I get the bearded. I still haven't picked a dragon out until I can over come this problem. My tank is 48" long, what size pad hold that require? Thanks for the input.

 

[Jon Macintosh]

Yea...its winter....

My house can get into the 50's at night.

You must live in a rather cold area, unless you're like Red007 and do not run the heat at night.

I do not run the gas heaters in my home while I'm asleep.

(Side Note - if you're turning off heat at night and back on in the morning you are probably costing yourself MORE money. Take some time and research leaving heat on at an agreeable temperature vs kicking it on and off throughout the day. It takes more effort to heat a cold house every day than it does for a heater to maintain a temperature - plus this also means you wouldn't have to worry abour your dragon at night!)

That all being said - I still do not recommend heat pads - there is too much room for error and I will never vote on potentially jeapordizing an animal's well being.

If temperatures fall too low within the "night hours" then the only thing I would reccomend as a viable heat source is a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) - they only produce heat, no light.

So, again, please avoid heating pads, of any type. Take your dragon's needs into consideration and employ the best methods possible - which in this case would be a Ceramic Heat Emitter.

 

[Red007]

(Side Note - if you're turning off heat at night and back on in the morning you are probably costing yourself MORE money. Take some time and research leaving heat on at an agreeable temperature vs kicking it on and off throughout the day. It takes more effort to heat a cold house every day than it does for a heater to maintain a temperature - plus this also means you wouldn't have to worry abour your dragon at night!)
Saving money is not the issue for me . It's the fact of having a propane fueled fire burning in 3 spots in my house while I sleep. I live in a old Victorian home so that's one of the down falls of a home like this.
That all being said - I still do not recommend heat pads - there is too much room for error and I will never vote on potentially jeapordizing an animal's well being.

If temperatures fall too low within the "night hours" then the only thing I would reccomend as a viable heat source is a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) - they only produce heat, no light.

So, again, please avoid heating pads, of any type. Take your dragon's needs into consideration and employ the best methods possible - which in this case would be a Ceramic Heat Emitter.[/quote]
Thanks, I do not want to use the pads if its not good for the BD. I will go the CHE route. My goal is just to keep the night time temps at around 75* is there a automatic thermostat I can plug this into or is there some way to regulate it?

 

[Jon Macintosh]

Thanks, I do not want to use the pads if its not good for the BD. I will go the CHE route. My goal is just to keep the night time temps at around 75* is there a automatic thermostat I can plug this into or is there some way to regulate it?

Great choice!
Many of these exist as you most definitely would not want a CHE running throughout the night, but rather only coming on to meet the variance to 75°F.
Here is an example of something you'll be looking for: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=6016 11148 20115 6544&pcatid=6544 though it is not my favorite seeing as how it doesn't gauge by actual degrees (meaning you'll need to do testing to find the proper setting).

You'll need to research this product a tad more, but I feel it would be better suited: http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...-timers/-/zoo-med-500r-thermostat-with-probe/

Best of luck!