Vivarium Temperature Manipulation

[baileyjames6]

Hi All,

It's been a while since I posted and wanted to get some thoughts and see if there is a general consensus on viv placement and temp manipulation. I fully understand it is always best to put your vivarium/terrarium in an area that has the natrually desired temperature or as close to it as you can get but I live in Connecticut and get to deal with the lovely New England Winters. I currently have some space in my finished basement and was considering doing a tree frog set up. My thoguht with this is that without a full water feature and the water soaked leca I could use a heating pad or two under or on the back of the tank as well as heat light to keep the tank warm. I once thought of doing this with my darts but was concerned what the heating pad would do to a tank that has a ton of water on the bottom. Keeping in mind how delicate amphibians are and how anyone who keeps them has a responsibility for there well being would it be safe to keep them in an area that can get down to 55 degrees if I can artificially keep the temp up. I would be very interested in hearing from other who may be in a similiar situation to see how things worked out.

Best Regards,

JB

[B Jet]

i'm by no means an expert, but i've been trying to deal with the same type of thing. It is so much easier to keep a viv's temp and humidity stable if your room has close to the same air conditions, especially in winter

The easiest thing is to keep frogs that can take temps down to 55, it would help give them a natural seasonal cycle. But if they are fully tropical, it could be difficult. Heating the water should actually make things easier, as it holds so much heat that it resists temp swings. Either way you should have a thermostat, aquarium heaters are cheap and have them built in. I keep a infrared light on all night long, and occasionally i'll see them basking at night, they know best what temp they need, it's always good to give them that option

The thing i have the most trouble with is maintaining humidity in the winter, with the central heating. You can close off most of the ventilation to the tank, but air circulation is crucial. If you open it up and it smells stale or like poo, theres not enough air circulation. So you can play with amount of ventilation, heaters(with thermostat), and foggers, until you get it right. I've been humidifying the room my viv is in, or sometimes the whole house. It's healthier, most cold and flu viruses can only survive in cold, dry air anyway. hope this helps

[sweetriden76]

I put an aquarium heater in the one I just built that has a full water feature...it seems to help the temp and humidity since when the temp falls below the water temp it evaporates keeping things moist...also built a fogger from an ultrasonic humidifier that works really well, one 100 watt heat lamp is keeping the tank near 80 degrees in a room that goes from 67-72 in the winter(PA is freezing too this time of year)...I like the idea of a heat pad on one wall though and thought about trying that, but it's working as it should now so I don't have the need for it, I think in your application a heat pad and a lamp would work, you can always play with different setups and find something that works...I had mine up a couple weeks now, and am gonna wait a few more weeks before frogs to make sure it's just right...