Heat pads in enclosures???

[Shad0w]

I just saw a post that showed a heat pad inside an enclosure:

http://www.crimsongypsy.com/snake/boxfrontangle.JPG

How many people do this?

Is it safe?

I would never attempt this with human heat pads but MAYBE exoterra's?

IDEAS? Thoughts?

ThanX :D

[Gary D.]

the first concern is of course for the animal, how hot can the heat pad get? If it can get hot enough to be uncomfortable to the tough (not even burn) then it should not be in the enclosure. Secondly is the risk of fire. Nuf said there.

Personally I do not keep any heat source: mat, heat lamp, regular incandescent in the enclosure so that it can come in direct contact with the animal. Box and screen all lamps.

In this case I am not familiar with Exotera's mat and how hot it can get. And it is well secured to the floor so that it cannot be injested (likely the most publicised problem with human heat pads), but I might drop a couple of floor tiles over it to distribute the heat more evenly.

[Shad0w]

Anyone else wanna chime in on this?

[Vengeance]

Personally I never want to introduce tape into any herp cage at all. Tape + Herps = accident waiting to happen. All that has to happen is one corner gets pulled up a bit and then you get the entire strip of tape stuck on your animal.

Just my 2 cents.

[Ptindy]

Personally I would never use a heat pad in the enclosure. I've thought about it but it isn't worth the risk of burning your animal and frankly there is no need to. I had an exoterra on the bottom of my balls tank once with a space between my dresser and previous tank. When I put my hand in the top drawer to touch the bottom of the dresser top it was warm t othe touch. And that's 1 inch on solid wood. So it definately can go on the bottom of a wooden enclosure unless you used two by fours or soemething.

[Ptindy]

In a big arboreal enclsoure like that i'm going to opt to use a heat lamp. For a big enclsoure for terrestrials with occasional climbing i'd use a heat mat.

[marisa]

There ARE heat mats made specifically for use INSIDE the enclosure.

One example is the Radient Heat Panel....http://www.pro-products.com/proheat.html

They say you can use them inside the enclosure, and I have talked to quite a few Green Tree Python owners who use them in the enclosure. I am not sure how they would work for an animal that lays on top of them though.

Marisa

[Shad0w]

Yea I know all about radient heat panels and I wouldnt classify them as heat mats. I have been looking at them and they interest me, but I was just curious cause I saw that cage where the person mounted 3 exoterras inside his custom cage...

Normally I use them on the outside...
Just a question of curiosity :D

[corr]

I use these and I am very happy with them!

Kane (http://www.kanemfg.com/polyethheatmat.htm)

Of course, a Thermostat or Rheostat is a MUST!

[Shad0w]

yea but do you USE them INSIDE the cage?

[corr]

Yes, right inside the cage.

[Shad0w]

Corr,

Can you take some pics and show me how?
Do you take any precautions?

And what exoterra's do you use?
The 25 watt sizes?

[Shad0w]

Oh u use kane matts.. woops :) how much those cost u????

[corr]

Here ya go Shad0w...

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/88kane_heat_mat.JPG

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/504/88kane_2.JPG

I bought them on Ebay but I can't remember exactly how much... about $50 US plus shipping and duty. I think they were about $100 CAD each when all was said and done. I did a search on Ebay but couldn't find them. Maybe the guy is temporarily out of stock. I couldn't even tell you who it was because I've changed computers since then and never got my emails transferred to the new drive.

Here is Big Apple's link...

http://www.bigappleherp.com/Reptile_Supplies/Product/Kane_Heat_Mats_120100.html



Anyway! I think they're great and I will buy more when I construct more melamine cages. Like I said, you MUST control the voltage or these things get REALLY hot. They're designed to be outdoors but Kane still promotes them for interior/cage use when used with a rheostat. They can be screwed to the floor but I prefer to leave them loose so I can clean underneath. I keep newspaper under them (just in case any pee rolls off) and newspaper on top too (removed for the photo). The only alteration I did was snip of the plug so I could fish it through the back of the cage. A new plug (2 prong) is only a couple of bucks. These mats measure 18" x 18" and the cages they're in are 48" x 24". :)

[Brent Strande]

How hot do they get? I'd be worried that if the rheostat/thermostat/dimmer failed that there would be no buffer before the extreme heat were inside the cage and in contact with your reptile?

[latazyo]

there is no more chance of burns than if the heat pad was underneath a 1/12655984 th of an inch thick rubbermade

the cons here include:
1. tape gettingon teh snake and hurting it (a real possibility, not your standard ssnakess.com paranoia)
2. water and poop and piss getting all over the heat pad, which would be a HUGE PITA

[Brent Strande]

I was more or less thinking of WOOD enclosures, yeah... not much diff when using a rubbermaid I assume. Even on the acrylic/melamine/plastic caging it should give some buffer time though.

[corr]

Originally posted by Brent Strande
How hot do they get? I'd be worried that if the rheostat/thermostat/dimmer failed that there would be no buffer before the extreme heat were inside the cage and in contact with your reptile?

They get a little hotter than a UTH at full voltage but the bottom is very well insulated so there is no risk there. Also, they're 100% water proof, so I'm not concerned about any moisture contacting them.

I'd have to review Kane's website but I'm pretty sure that they are designed to be used outdoors with no voltage control... as long as there is plenty of air flow...

[corr]

I know Shad0w decided to go with the radiant panels but here's a link to the Kane mats that I bought on Ebay... for anyone interested...

http://stores.ebay.com/Ryans-Products_Heat-Mats_W0QQcolZ2QQdirZQ2d1QQsclZallQQsotimedisplayZ2 QQtZkm

[spiderman]

sorry for butting in lol

theres a lot of contraversy over here regarding heat mats inside enclosures. Years ago using heatmats inside malamine enclosures was how most paople over here heated their enclosures. Ive used heat mats inside vivs for around 10 years now (although i am getting rid of the melamine and currently only have 2) and have had no problems. The only reason i can see snakes sufferiong burns etc is if the ambient temp of the room is so low resulting in the snake not moving from the heat source.

i run a reptile shop but would never recomend using a heat mat inside the viv. all heat sources are best used in conjunction with a suitable thermostat.