Wood does not conduct heat very well so putting a heat mat outside the wooden vivarium would be a bad idea.
Heat mat inside or outside vivarium.
They re a good way to provide gentle warmth and they heat the floor of your vivarium much like the sun would heat the ground in your reptile s natural environment.
While these are a safe low cost and generally effective way of providing artificial heat they re not without their weaknesses.
If placed inside the vivarium under some sand or substrate your animal may scrape away the substrate and burn itself.
If thats the case then something is seriously wrong with your thermostat.
Ever wondered how to install a heat mat if you use a vivarium.
Most invertebrate keepers and even many snake owners use low wattage heat mats to warm their vivariums.
Imo even with the reptile carpet over it its a no.
The main problem being that they only produce a gentle warmth.
In a plastic glass vivarium heat mats should go outside the cage and the heat will be emiited through the vivarium walls.
Heat mats are used to maintain a constant temperature throughout your vivarium.
So you have it one the outside attatched to a thermostat that is turned up all the way and its still not up to the temp range.
Glass vivarium if you are using a glass or plastic tank then the heat mat is placed outside the tank.
The polystyrene provides insulation directing the heat upwards towards the tank.
Helpful if you own reptiles.
A heat mat should never be inside a glass vivarium.
The tank is then place on top.