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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Vermis" data-source="post: 210690" data-attributes="member: 37487">Gonna be honest, I think there's a bit of paranoia about heat mats. I used them years ago when I first kept inverts and I use them now, with no casualties.Sure, don't use them underneath the viv, or in it, or even stuck against the side. (The bulky lids of my food containers and storage boxes manage to keep them separated by half to one inch) Otherwise I don't think you need to sweat the small stuff.Case in point, and speaking as someone else living in a cold part of the world, I've been using 15W heat strips and mats (including a 12x12") and this winter they struggled to keep the temp - on the heated side - much higher than 20°C/68°F on cold nights. I have a 20W mat heating a 20 litre roach tub and that keeps it about 24-25°C/75-77°F currently.Just the other day I got two 28W mats in the post, for the bigger surface area - to heat more of the bookshelves that my expanding collection rests on, rather than have a bunch of smaller mats plugged in, heating a smaller area. I may have to go dig out my old mat stat for that kind of wattage, but before that I might experiment by... pulling the tubs slightly further away.(I have a mat stat because I used to heat a small invert cabinet with two huge 45W mats. They did the job. Heat mats are faaantastic.)I think I saw some low powered 12x12 mats that are about 11 Watts. (Or if you're very anxious, get a 6x12 7W mat) Maybe stick a couple of spacers on the mat if you're planning to stick it to the viv. I also like Nurse Ratchet's suggestion of keeping it above most of the substrate.Speaking from experience, I think your most worrisome problem with the small, lo-Watt mats might be condensation on the other side of the viv.</blockquote>

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