Heating Requirements.

[Klaire]

Heat wave is gone now and starting to get colder at night and am wanting to get a heat matt/pad to have on at night (controlled with a thermostat) underneath the glass tank where mercy's hide is to keep her warm but also on feeding nights to help her digest her meals easier. I found this on eBay, has anyone had experience with these particular mats? I was after the green pad but could only find these black ones. Also any ideas on what to place in between the matt and the glass so that it doesn't break?. thanks guys :)

Heat MAT 15x28cm 7W Reptile Brooder Incubator PET Heating PAD Brew TY | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Heat-Mat-15x28cm-7W-Reptile-Brooder-Incubator-Pet-Heating-Pad-Brew-TY-/400995347701?hash=item5d5d2f6cf5:g:auAAAOSwLqFV96I x)

[toddnbecka]

Never used those particular mats myself, but the pic looks very similar to the ones I do use Ultratherm Heat Pads (http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm-heat-pads) from Scotland. At 7w it won't get dangerously hot, you may even get by w/out a t-stat depending on what you use for substrate in the enclosure. I place mine directly under but not actually taped down to the glass in my tanks, in the wooden enclosures I place the heat mats under a large ceramic tile to help distribute the heat and protect the mat itself. Again, not taped directly to the tile, but I do have mine connected to t-stats to maintain the temps.
No reason the heat from a mat should break the glass unless you spill water on warm glass, the sudden change in temp may cause it to crack, but the heat mat alone isn't likely to cause that. Particularly if the glass is tempered, commonly found in US aquariums, but I don't know how they're manufactured on your side of the pond.

[Klaire]

I use critters crumble coconut husk :) Thanks for the info appreciate it :)

[Tsubaki]

I have had mats that get hot enough on their own, to get the glass to crack. My very first terrarium (looooong time ago) had a few cracks in the bottom because of a mat, it was hooked up to a thermostat but the glass was pretty much pressed against the mat. It doesn't have to crack, but it is not void of risk. Some have built in thermostats and wont get over 30° C, the ones that don't can get really hot. I don't really use glass terrariums anymore myself, but i still work with some. They have little rubber feet under them. No cracks, as air can flow through :). It's also a very cheap solution. (The tiny feet are like 2,- for 4 here) and you and easily move the mat to a different position.