I have a regular 5 setting heating pad, its not the super expensive "for snakes" one, but its a plastic cover heating pad that you buy at walmart with low though high settings. Is it ok to use? i see the temps need to be between 75-80 but my Infer-red Gun shows 85 with no heat in the cage, outside the cage its about 75s. So should i still use the heating pad for half the cage?
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Can I Use A Regular Heating Pad?
timmah
May 26, 2009 04:13 PM
Replies (2)
Sonya
May 27, 2009 06:58 PM
>>I have a regular 5 setting heating pad, its not the super expensive "for snakes" one, but its a plastic cover heating pad that you buy at walmart with low though high settings. Is it ok to use? i see the temps need to be between 75-80 but my Infer-red Gun shows 85 with no heat in the cage, outside the cage its about 75s. So should i still use the heating pad for half the cage?
You may find it has a safety feature of auto turn off and you may also find it is not as fire safe and burn safe as you would like. I would use lots of air space and monitoring for safety.
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Sonya
I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny
trolligans
Jun 05, 2009 08:49 AM
not sure if theraputic heating pads are designed for prolonged use. You're meant to use them for a few minutes or a couple hours, not for days on end. It might screw up the pad and cause it to overheat.
Also, wedging a heating pad (of any kind) beneath a tub or tank will cause massive heat buildup. There are 2 ways to get around this.
1, have a little space for air flow under the tank, and only use part of the heating pad.
2, place the tank and pad on a metal shelf. the metal will help to dissipate the heat.
Check your temps after the pad has been under the tank for at least a few minutes. get a reading of the substrate directly over the pad. check it again a few minutes later to see if you are experiencing build up. I would check it at least once every 30 minutes for most of the day and then I'd keep an eye on it for about a week, checking a couple times a day.
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