Reptile & Amphibian Forums

just wanted to let you know that you were right about your concern for me using human heating pads under my vivarium.just like you mentioned,the bottom of my vivarium cracked last night.im pretty pissed since i put a lot of work into it.i cant get to it to see how large of a crack it is but i was sitting online last night when i heard it crack.the funny thing is,the heat pad had been turned off for over an hour before it cracked but i guess the constant heat,then cooling wore out the glass.it dripped water for about an hour but since i use my false bottom for only runoff water,and my waterfall is self contained,im hoping i can still salvage my setup by drilling a hole in the bottom to quickly drain out any extra water before it leaks out of the crack.if i can find it maybe some silicon on the bottom of the glass may help.anyway,just thought i let youy know you were right.

I'm very sorry to hear that. I will help you fix it though, assuming you haven't already, being that it was almost a month ago. Get some GE Silicone I and some 1/4" plexi glass (Lowe's, Home Depot, probably 15 bucks total). Depending on how it cracked you might be able to fix it from the outside, otherwise you have to take it all apart and do it inside. Make sure everything is dry, I usually use a hair dryer to be sure. Take your silicone and completely cover all of your cracks. Goop that stuff on and smear it around a bit. You want a nice thick layer that really covers either side of the crack. Now while everything is still wet, take your plexi glass and cover it with silicone, spear it around on there too, and use it like a patch to cover the majority of your cracking. I have used this method many many times and it hasn't failed me.