# Frogs & Toads > Dart Frogs (Dendrobatidae) > General Discussion >  Heat mat and Temperature enquiries for D. leucomelas

## dbizal

Hi all, 

More questions from me :P

I obviously need to purchase a heat mat and was told I couldn't put it underneath my Vivarium due to having a false bottom (I assume this would heat up the water and cause problems?) so I was wondering if it would be ok to have it mounted to the bank of the tank? The back has a silicone layer and a great stuff layer (which is coated with more silicone and Tree Fern). I am looking at buying the Exo Terra Rainforest Heat wave mat. 

I will be getting little to no heat from my lighting (LED Flood for Daylight and LED strip for moonlight) so the heat mat and room temp will be the only source of heating. How would I achieve the slight drop in temperature during the moonlight hours without a thermostat? (They are too expensive for my budget so any cheaper options would be great).

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## Carlos

You can't locate heat mat below tank or behind foam background.  Only options are the sides.  If you have space on top left for a small Fluker's dome with dimmer; can use a ceramic heat emitter as heat source. 

Can't create a temp. drop without a controller; unless the temperature differential is small and turning off heat source works OK.  Will either need a thermostat (auto) or a manual rheostat (dimmer) to lower heat output  :Smile:  .

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## dbizal

Will the heat not penetrate through the foam background then or will it cause other problems? 
I didn't really want to put anything else inside the enclosure now other than the substrate, plants and frogs haha (it's small as it is), so is the ceramic heater outside of the enclosure? I have two sides of the enclosure exposed but I didn't really want to place a heat mat there for aesthetic reasons...

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## Carlos

No, foam is an insulant, hence it's use in cooler boxes.  If top is screen, can use a heat source above it.  However; if it's glass, your only option is the heat mat on the side.

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## dbizal

I have the Exo Terra Terrarium so the top is a screen mesh type thing... Although I got my cousin to cut me some glass to fit inside the sections to help with humidity in the tank. I will make a quick video to explain it better, gimme 5 mins.

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## dbizal

Here you go mate: Heating Options - YouTube

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## dbizal

Bumping up as I am looking to purchase a heat source sooner rather than later. 
Any help would be appreciated.

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## Lynn

> Bumping up as I am looking to purchase a heat source sooner rather than later. 
> Any help would be appreciated.


If you are using any heat near the substrate of a PFD enclosure, may I respectively suggest getting aquarium type thermometers;  stick them in the soil in more than one spot!  78F should absolutely be the the cut off  ( the warning zone)  They could die in a prolonged temp > 80F . 

I use the one in the far right in this photo. 
Hagen Thermometers

I use heat cables ( exo terra) in the winter only ( on timers )  as my tanks are in the basement. 
These need to used w/*  extreme caution*. I do not have them touching the glass.
I believe you can purchase thermostats  :Smile:  
Lynn

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## dbizal

I am using Degrees Celcius (UK) so I think for D.Leucs I need the Viv to be at around 24-26 Degrees. The Viv sits at around 22 during the day and drops to around 18-19 at night which is too low from my understanding? This is without any heat source other than the LED floodlight I have but that doesn't put any heat into the Viv from what I have been told. 

I have planted half of the Viv so far (I am currently constructing a water bath to capture water from the waterfall and create a bath and stream of which will keep the water from being in direct contact with the substrate)
This is how the Viv looks at the moment:


I was thinking about either just getting a heat mat and fixing it to the side of the Viv (which isn't too aesthetically pleassing) or getting a Ceramic Heat emitter of which I could possibly fix up to a dimmer to keep the temp fixed and turn it down at night... It is a shame that the Flukers ones are so expensive and I have to import them to the UK... so for now I think the heat mat might be a better option.

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## dbizal

I was thinking about maybe getting a Ceramic Heat Emitter with a fitting and then plugging it into this? Dimmer Socket Switch Light Table Lamp Mains Plug in. Free first class Delivery | eBay

Do you think this would work?

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## dmallia

> If you are using any heat near the substrate of a PFD enclosure, may I respectively suggest getting aquarium type thermometers;  stick them in the soil in more than one spot!  78F should absolutely be the the cut off  ( the warning zone)  They could die in a prolonged temp > 80F . 
> 
> I use the one in the far right in this photo. 
> Hagen Thermometers
> 
> I use heat cables ( exo terra) in the winter only ( on timers )  as my tanks are in the basement. 
> These need to used w/*  extreme caution*. I do not have them touching the glass.
> I believe you can purchase thermostats  
> Lynn


Could you please explain how you used the heating cables with the vivariums? I bought one but don't know how I am going to use it. Thanks.

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