uth on rubbermaids

[kidchameleon]

can you put an uth on a rubbermaid? or will it like, melt it or something? thanks

[klein]

i have a human heating pad on my rubbermaid with no problems as of yet.

[latazyo]

no, since you use a dimmer to probably keep the temps around 90-100 it's fine....think of it this way, does your 98.6 degree body melt the rubbermaid?

on my racks there is barely any space between the rubbermaid and the heat tape, which runs around 100, so you should be good to go IF you're using a dimmer

[klein]

thanks for mentioning that latazyo, i use the switch that they provide on the heating pad, and keep it on the low setting and everything is fine, if you buy a reptile uth then you will need a dimmer

[kidchameleon]

alright, so a dimmer is definitely neccessary? about how much do they cost?

[latazyo]

you can make a rheostat as per instructions in the enclosure forum...but those are more for plugging in multiple items

you can get a lamp dimmer at walmart for 8 bucks

[kidchameleon]

a dimmer will work? or ill need a thermostat

[latazyo]

dimmers work by putting a constant amount of electricity to the unit...if the room temp fluctuates, so will your cage temp

a thermostat (better in my opinion if your room temp fluctuates a lot) variably controls the amount of electricity to the unit based on the temperature that the thermostat's probe is detecting...temp goes down, thermo probe detects, sends more elec to the uth

[kidchameleon]

well. the temperature in the room usually stays at about 72 degrees, but i think ill just get a thermostat just to be safe. thanks a lot latazyo

[kidchameleon]

hmm, today i saw a human heating pad, and it had settings on it - high, medium, and low. would this work?

[klein]

that's what i have been using is a human heating pad for one of my cages with no worries at all. look at this link and you will see the different temps you will get with each setting. just make sure that you buy one that doesn't have the auto shut-off feature, it will say right on the box if it does, if it doesn't say then it doesn't have it. The sunbeam ones from walmart have been good for me and other people use them on this board as well.

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43148

let us know if you have any other questions or if this makes any sense at all

[kidchameleon]

yes, i understand it and it makes perfect sense. it helped me a lot, thanks klein.

about how much do they cost at walmart? the one i saw today(not at walmart) was about 20$

[klein]

for the one that measures approx 12 inches by 15 incehs is $21.97 plus tax, i happen to have the receipt in front of me and it is the one that doesn't have the auto shut-off feature. i am sure any heatpad would do the trick, just make sure you test the temps before using it, we are using the sunbeam one and the temps seem to be consistent between us as you can see from the other topic, but not sure of other brands. other then that give it a try and let us know how it worked out.

Nick

[kidchameleon]

alright, im going to hopefully go to walmart today or tomorrow and look for one. thanks everyone