• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Heating pads!!!!

C

canadianjoe

New member
I am a newbie with snakes. I need to go out and buy a under tank heating pad. Which company would you guys say is the best. I have a choice between the "EXO TERRA HEATWAVE VIVARIUM HEATER " and "zoo med". Are there big differences, or does it really not matter that much. Thnx in advance.
 
I

Haven't really seen a differance in any of them.

I highly suggest no matter what type of heating pad you choose you also purchase a thermastat to control the pad. It can become VERY hot even on low...they are have the ability to burn an animal without the use of a thermastat. Thermastats are cheap and can be made at home, or purchased at the pet shop/reptile shop made specifically for reptiles.

bmm
 
I recommend T-rex brand Cobra Heat Mats. They're the non-stick on type with copper connects and the entire mat is enveloped in a plastic laminate (custom heat strips are of this type and are widely used in practice). They are a little more expensive, and I would try to order one online if you can't find it. Big Apple Herp sells a very similar product called "Dragon's Lair" heatmats. They're pretty much the same exact thing as the cobra heat mat. Here's the link to their site: http://www.bigappleherp.com

The good thing about these heat mats is that if you choose to change cages, you can just as easily just move the heat mat to the other cage instead of having to buy a new one (those stick on types are impossible to get off). They also make washing the cage safer (no electrocution hazard because the heatmat will NEVER come into contact with water, the stick on types require alot of attention when cleaning the cage). And they don't fry your snake (since max temps are around 100 deg F). Just elevate the cage off the heatmat an inch or so and you'll be set, or nothing if you use a good layer of substrate.

Good hunting

-13mur 6
 
I love the idea of those mats--- only one problem. I am up in canada. I also custom made my tank so it is just over 20 gallon vivarium with glass bottom. it is 32 inch long. there are heat pads at the pet store that they say is good for a 20 gallon they are 8x6(zooMED). I don't think that is big enough but i don't want to go up to the medium size.8x12-- but i am not sure if this is too big or not. The medium size is almost double the price(i know because it is double the size). But i don't want to buy it if i don't have to.
 
Oh, I see your point, (yeah that minimum order of $100 made me choke on my beer).

The size of the heat mat you want should cover 1/3 of the length of the tank, and no more. A little less that that is okay too, just as long as there is enough area for the WHOLE snake to get on top of all at once. This leaves a warm area right above the heat pad, a warmish area next to, and a cool area farthest, creating that temp gradient everyone talks about.

Since you would need a heat pad about 10 inches long, what I would do is get the bigger one and stick it to a plate of glass slightly bigger than the size of the heatmat instead of directly onto your custom made terrarium. This would allow you to freely move around the heat pad (it'll be just like buying the cobra mat, but it'll be heavier and made of glass). You can slide just 10 inches under the terrarium and leave the rest outside and that should be just fine (just remember to elevate things so the wire doesn't get crushed and cause a fire). ZooMed does make okay products and they seem to be a very popular company here in the US as well, so I wouldn't worry about it burning out on you, plus I think they come with a warranty in case it does.

Hope that helps, I'm pretty sure if you think on it long enough you might be able to find a better method, but that method I used since I was little until I found the cobra heat mats and it's worked pretty well.

-13mur 6
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top