Heating Pad?

I have a zoo med heating pad on my tank that covers a little more then 1/3 of the tank but with just the pad my tank only gets up to 78 degrees. So i have a lamp too and if i have both on it gets to 90 degrees exactly. But im tryin not to use the lamp considering he ddont need it.

What can i do to make it so i dont have to worry about the light and get to the proper temp?

Is there better heating pads?

Do understand you're measuring the surface temperature of your tank, not the ambient. If you're reading the temps from one of those peel and stick side of the tank thermom's:
A. Ineffective, even if we were measuring ambient.
B. Measures ambient/glass temp.

You'll need a probe thermometer that will measure the temp of the top of the substrate over where the heating pad is.

i do have one wit a probe and it is where the hot hide is. and i have one thats just on the side. but i just pay attention to the probe mainly.

Is the pad just sitting under your tank, and not pressing on the glass?

No its on the tank. i stuck it to the bottom with the adhesive. I have adhesive tiles for substrate but its super thin. You can feel the heat off it..

Then I'd say you're not getting accurate readings for the thermometer. If you can get a "second opinion" on readings, then I'd try that.

Most UTH's can get to 100 degrees easily, just by being under the tank. The tile should lower that number slightly, but not 30 degrees worth. I agree with Kodieh, get another reading, as chances are your thermometer is off. If you have another heat pad and not another thermometer, try using that one to see if it gets a different reading. Also, if you don't have another pad or thermometer, use the thermometer where you know you have a constant temperature to see if it is accurate that way. For example alot of people have thermometers in their fridges or freezers, so put the thermometer from your tank in one of those places, where you can compare the reading. Be advised however that some thermometers don't do so well in colder settings. I'm not sure how accurate the Zoo Med one is in colder places, so check up on that if you do use the fridge/freezer trick, to make sure it can get an accurate reading in those situations, even if the thermometer is 100% accurate/working. Good luck.


And if you need another UTH or thermometer w/ probe, check ebay and amazon. Ebay has some thermometers w/ probe from Hong Kong and China that you can buy for under 5 U.S. dollars, including shipping. I've used one before, and it was accurate. The only downside is they do not last long, 2 years or so in my experience, which is also about the life of the battery. And frankly, its cheaper to buy another one, than the batteries they take

Do you have the heating pad plugged into a thermostat or rheostat or is it just plug straight into an outlet? If its just plugged straight into an outlet then what is the temp in the room that the viv is in. Alot of these heat mats will only heat to a few degrees above what the ambient room temperature is if plugged straight into an outlet with no thermostat or rheostat.

Not sure. I have it right into the outlet and it might be a good idea to get a rhes=ostat or something. im gonna try the rfridge thing too. seems like something isnt right.