Hi i have a heating rock in Rasputin’s tank since the room gets quite cold throughout the night and recently found out sand is not the best substrate for him and want to switch to paper towels but i am unsure if it’s safe to have the heating rock on the paper towels. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Heating rocks in general are not very safe items for a beardies tank. If you need supplemental heat at night I strongly suggest ditching the heat rock and getting a CHE instead so it's overhead heat.
Heat rocks have a reputation of failing and burning dragons who are lying on them. CHE's are much safer as the dragon has no access to it.
FWIW, you only need supplemental heat at night if your house is dropping below 65~ at night.
I will have to see if any where near me has them but until i can grab one would i be able to place it ontop of paper towels? Or just leave the towels out for now till i grab the overhead heat
IF the heat rock is functioning properly, it shouldn't cause any issues to the paper towels. However if it fails, well then that could cause an issue.
I would follow the suggestions/recommendations of the manufacturer of the specific heat rock. If you don't have the box it came in anymore you should be able to look it up online.
You can get some NON adhesive shelf liner-- something w/ a little texture from home Depot for a substrate clean w / vinegar and water solution 50/50 cut it to the size of your tank
Karrie