Hot rocks?

B

Betta132

Sixth Instar
Are heating rocks good for roaches? I have a colony of domino roaches that I'm moving to a larger terrarium, and I want to keep it warm. I keep my room in the mid-60s for my own comfort, and I know that's a bit too cold for these guys, so I want to ratchet it up to low-to-mid-70s in some parts of the tank.. If I put a heating rock in, like the ones sold for reptiles, would they take advantage of that warmer area? I assume they're smart enough to move away if they get too hot. Or should I go with the heating-pad-on-the-tank-wall approach? I can't put something underneath it because this is a Biocube aquarium, it has plastic structures underneath it. Besides, my goal is to make zones, so the roaches can choose what temperature they want to be at. 

 
Betta132 said:
Are heating rocks good for roaches? I have a colony of domino roaches that I'm moving to a larger terrarium, and I want to keep it warm. I keep my room in the mid-60s for my own comfort, and I know that's a bit too cold for these guys, so I want to ratchet it up to low-to-mid-70s in some parts of the tank.. If I put a heating rock in, like the ones sold for reptiles, would they take advantage of that warmer area? I assume they're smart enough to move away if they get too hot. Or should I go with the heating-pad-on-the-tank-wall approach? I can't put something underneath it because this is a Biocube aquarium, it has plastic structures underneath it. Besides, my goal is to make zones, so the roaches can choose what temperature they want to be at. 
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Apparently heat rocks aren't recommend even for the reptiles they were made for, I definitely wouldn't risk using them for roaches! I'd just use a heat pad and put it on one side of the enclosure, (not the bottom), if you need to provide supplemental heat.

 
Bulbs can dry out the soil, put a small heat pad on the side or bottom. If it's small enough you may not need a heat regulator, otherwise id put a reostat on the heat pad.

 
True but with heat cables and pads you can have lower ventalation and keep some of the humidity in. With heat bulbs you have to have a section of screen on the cage which alows more humidity to escape and and dry out the air @Hisserdude I use a oil filled heater to keep my roach room at about 76 or 77 which means I can keep a lot of species with out heat mats, if I have species that require lower temps they go to the bottom of the rack, If they need higher temps they go to the top or close to the oil filled heater or under a few heat cables I have running. 

 
Redmont said:
True but with heat cables and pads you can have lower ventalation and keep some of the humidity in. With heat bulbs you have to have a section of screen on the cage which alows more humidity to escape and and dry out the air @Hisserdude I use a oil filled heater to keep my roach room at about 76 or 77 which means I can keep a lot of species with out heat mats, if I have species that require lower temps they go to the bottom of the rack, If they need higher temps they go to the top or close to the oil filled heater or under a few heat cables I have running. 
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True, but I've found that even with limited ventilation, undertank heat pads or cables do dry out the substrate very fast, (not that I would really recommend using undertank heating methods for roaches anyway).

My room is small and kinda poorly ventilated, so it's been in the high 70s in here for most of the year, no extra heating necessary! :P Once I move I'm gonna have to look into using a heat bulb or something to cover a lot of enclosures at once, like Kyle does. 

 
I found myself in a pet supply store and got a small heat pad for one side of the tank. I'm monitoring it to be sure nothing gets too hot, but it's a 6x8 heat pad, facing the air conditioner, on an 18x18 cube. I highly doubt it'll get too hot in there. My goal is just to provide an optional warm area for them, not heat the entire thing, or I would have gotten something stronger. 

 
Hot rocks get way too hot, they burn snakes.  I also consider them to be a fire hazard.  Heat pads can be regulated with a dimmer, or a thermostat.  Amazon sells Hydrofarm for about $40 each.  They have worked fine for me.  Even a small wattage light will put out heat for a small mostly enclosed environment.  I can feel the heat even off my 9w Jungle Dawn LED's. 

We keep a VERY cold house in the winter.  I was planning to try the top of the fridge for some bins. The meal worms made through last winter fine simply 6 feet up on a shelf.  I've also thought, maybe set the roach bin on top of the contents of a larger worm composting bin?  Compost gives off a nice gentle heat.  I have about ten worm (E. foetida) buckets going right now, and a Black Soldier Fly bin that must get well over 100F daily, and entirely consumes the day's food scraps in 24 hours.  Compost bins would not exactly living room friendly, but the heat is free.   This was my first year with a successful BSF colony.  We have mild winters here, but not sure how long I'll be able to extend the season.

 
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You can get light dimmers and use them for heat pads, they are like $12 or less on amazon 

 
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