Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i know this should be posted in maybe the health forum but alot of you stress on using heating pads,,ive bought about 5 heating pads and they never work out as i want them to,,,

1.they burn the table and make the spot black
2.i have to put about 3-4 pieces of carton to fix the temp,,yet still hot,,and i used the things you use to determine heat,,still no luck
3.its so hot it actually ,err,,burns itself,,i mean i can never seem to re-use a heating pad on another tank,,,it melts or something

im buying a rainbow boa, with all my other herps i just stick to light they all seem to do fine,,, what about the rainbow boa,, is that ok?

Sounds like your heat pads are getting to hot. Most of the off the shelf ones in the pet stores do. You may want to invest in a thermostat or rheostat which will limit the power going to the heating element. I've used human heating pads from the local drugstore or mega chain in the past (Kmart or Walmart) that have the 3 temp settings, and on the lowest setting they shouldn't burn anything. I've even kept the fabric cover on them. A gap under the tank to allow for a little air flow will also help keep your temp lower and may prevent burning the surface you're resting the pad on.
Lora