i've also been wondering that.
I want to add a heat mat to my emp enclosure but i'd imagine a mat from the side wouldnt really heat the enclosure that well.. and i have a false bottom setup in the tank so the underneath probably wouldnt work well.
In case you still need more people to say it, put it on the side. It's good to have a temperature gradient so they can move to different places to get more or less heat when they need to, and heating up the entire bottom is unnatural.
The scorpions that burrow do it partly to escape the heat on the surface since it's significantly cooler underground. You can see some of the effect in a basement, if people have them where you live. Making it hotter under ground and giving them nowhere to escape it keeps them from regulating their temperatures and that's not good.
So the best ways to get more heat in there (other than heating up your whole room) are a mat on the side or a lamp. If you do ever get a lamp though, remember to turn it off at night.
I am not a big fan of putting heatmats on the side of the tank. I can never raise the ambient temp of the tank. However I still dont put them under either.
Red bulb has always worked best for me.
Can anyone honestly say that they have cooked a scorp by putting the heatmat under the tank. I just find that hard to believe.
I understand the logic behind it but I still have my doubts.
I've tried the Heat mat on the side route and an Exo Terra Heat Glo Infra Red bulb route.
My results have been somewhat different with both set ups.
First of all.
The Infra Red bulb, heats the tank up great, however it eats the air humidity for fun. So while I have a higher ambient "Air temperature" I am constantly fighting to keep the humidity level and acceptable. & this is with 3/4's of the tank top covered with Cling film to help keep in as much humidity as possible.
Great for watching my Emps at night with, but not so great having to contantly mist 3 or 4 times a day to replace the humidity it is burning through.
The Heat mat on the side option.
While it may seem this does not produce as much heat or increase the ambient air temperature as well as bulbs, it is not really meant to. It heats the furnishings or top layer of substrate gently that is within it's range with it's ultra long infra red heat. While it may only seem to heat just a few inches from the place it is situated it will in fact be reaching much further. It also does not eat through your precious humidity anywhere near as much as the Infra red bulbs.
I have now retired my Heat Glo set up and have bought a new Heat Mat to replace it with for heating the tank. Though it is being kept in place for night time observation of my Emps.
What you do is down to you, but I still think the Heat mat on the side/back of the tank is the best set up. I personally always place it on the side, and always the side where the sun comes through the window to provide a bit of a lightbreak from it.
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