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Confused by Heat Pat

Taybeh Chaser

Taybeh Chaser

New member
I recently purchased a heat pad for Zanjibil, since it's going to get cooler here pretty soon. It is from Reptapets, and it is 20 watts and about the size of a third of his viv. I plugged it in to check it out, and was surprised to find that it does not seem to give off very much heat at all. I am worried because, while the bottom of Z's viv is glass, it is stuck in a kind of plastic base with what appears to be a layer of styrofoam between said base and the glass. I am not sure how well the heat created will be conducted through this base, and of course I don't want to waste electricity on something that won't help my snake keep warm when November gets here. The instructions say the pad can be placed under the viv or inside it under the substrate, but on the other hand I don't want to risk burning or electrocuting Zanjibil, and I don't know how I'll run the cord into the viv without leaving a possible escape route.

Does anyone have any advice? Thanks in advance.
 
How hot it it getting? 85 is the ideal maximum (with a bit of wiggle room slightly higher), which will feel pretty cool to you. You need to know the temp usng an infra-red or digital thermometer.

Also, what make/model is it? I seem to remember that there's one particular one which does run pretty cool.

You're right that it seems odd to have the layer of styrofoam over it, as that's an insulator. Is it possible that this needs to be removed before use? Is it only on one side of the mat?

Any suitable UTH should be usable outside and underneath a glass or plastic tank. When running at a safe temp for a Corn, there's no risk of them getting so hot the glass/plastic will crack or melt.
 
If you put it inside, you probably need to get a thermostat or rheostat to reduce the temperature. The first thing is to get an accurate thermometer to read it's peak temp.
 
I am going to buy both a digital thermometer and a thermostat soon, as part of my winter preparations.

I should clarify that the styrofoam is part of Z's viv, not attached to the heat mat. It is stuck between the glass bottom of the viv and and the pointless-seeming plastic base encasing the bottom of the viv. It does seem weird for it to be there. I'm not sure how or if I can remove it.
 
Ah, I see - thanks for the clarification. That layer of styrofoam underneath the tank is going to make it very difficult to use any undertank heat source, as it will act as an insulator and block much of the heat (as you've found). I'm guessing it's also then at risk of causing the mat itself to overheat. You might have to try and find a way of using the UTH inside the tank instead.
 
I am pretty nervous about messing around with heat pads inside the tank, especially since I don't know how to get it in there without leaving a gap. Maybe I'll just trade for a more reasonable tank as an early Xmas gift for Zanjibil.
 
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