Undercage heater on a rubbermaid....?

[reptiguy420]

Ok this might be a really dumb question but im gonna ask it anyways my friend John just got a few cresteds and he slapped an undertank heater to the side of his rubbermaids.I didnt think this was very safe but i was just curious if anyone else does this?Wouldnt it be a fire hazard?Thanks!

[beanersmysav]

I don't think you should honestly put a heating pad on crested geckos as if it get over 83-84 they will get stressed and if they're juveniles they're reallly vulnerable to those high temps so if it's warmer than that weither its a fire hazard or not take them off. I live in upstate new york and i dont have heat in my reptiles room but I let the heat come in from the other rooms as I don't want any force air heat dryng my lizards out but my crested cages still stay between 71-75 in the day time and 70 even at night so unless you live in antartica or someplace really cold he shouldn't really need the pads.

[reptiguy420]

Well i currently have four cresteds and i dont have any kind of extra heat going to their tanks, my reptile room stays fairly warm at night.My friend John on the other hand is renting a house, with 3 apartments in it.He had originally just turned the heat up in the house to make it warmer and his landlord told him not to go over 70 or hed have to pay the heat bill(landlord pays heat).So now it just seems overly cold in his house, and he noticed his animals start to "slow" down if you know what i mean.He slapped the undertank heater on the side of the rubbermaid for added warmth.Now these are big rubbermaids as well , these are the ones that you could stuff a small person in lol.So the crested have a warm side and a cold side but is there a chance for a fire hazard?

[beanersmysav]

I don't know about a fire hazard as plastic would just melt if anything which would be terrible for the cresteds as they'd be basicly screwed, but someone else will have to answer that I'd just get in there with a temperature gun quick like to find out the temp either way. Cresteds can suffice temps as low as the 50's from what ive heard so if its in the high 60's low 70's that should be fine, and this is the time of year you'd cool your crested down anyways if you were to do it. If you dont have a temp gun though theres some cheaper ones that work pretty well on reptibid for 25.00 I owned one of them and it worked for years with accurate reading but I've since bought a new expensive gun that has a 5 yr warranty but those cheaper guns work great in my oppinion, it still reads accuratly I just wanted something new for some reason.

[Tim_Cranwill]

Heat up a soldering iron and melt a hole in the plastic. Then I DARE you to touch the tip of the iron. You'll see just how hot it needs to be to melt the plastic! :D If your heat pad is getting THAT hot, you'll be outside on the curb holding your family photos in no time! LOL

And I would say it's not the bin you need to worry about in this scenario. It's the gecko. They don't need heat pads. Room temp, assuming you keep your rooms at about 21C, is just fine.

[reptiguy420]

Thanks Tim, as far as touching the S-iron i think ill pass lol.;)

[HeatherRose]

Not only would it be too hot as mentioned above, but an undercage heater is *useless* seeing as crested geckos are arboreal...

And yet I'm the one who was told to go back to school...

[CDN-Cresties]

If a heat source is provided, cresties will use it. Just as long as its not over 80 degrees.

[beanersmysav]

Yea true if you deem it necisary to use a heating pad do some looking around for a temp. gauge that will keep it under 80 degrees, they're all over from like 20-200.00 I'd reccomend spending a little extra to make sure it's going to work properly.

[Brent Strande]

If you really want one you can go to www.tempgun.com and get one for $25

[beanersmysav]

thats the one i was speaking of but i didnt think we were allowed to post sites

[reptiguy420]

The garters doing great im glad you took the time out of your day to search my posts lol.I just paired him up with a female,(oh i picked this one up on the gravel road by my house)see what kind of babies i can get from the two.Interested in garter babies?

[little_dragon_]

You can use a heat pad on a rubbermaid but you'll need a dimmer. If your friends house is cold all the time and the crested enclosures never reach a temp of 78 degrees I can see the benefits of having a heat pad. They can take extreme temps a night but must be allowed to warm up during the day. Crested geckos are both ground dwelling and aboreal so your geckos will benefit from a ground heat source, A nice warm log or rock over the heat pad will do as well. If they're cold they'll naturally move to the hot spot regardless of where it is in the the rubbermaid. 6 out of eight adults I own hide on the ground during the day,barried in leaves moss, soil or under little hides. I vote Dragondrop as the forum mod! Who do I need to pay to run a campaine, hee hee

[DragnDrop]

Okay, all cleaned up now, so let's try and stay on topic, shall we?

[oscar]

i think it was a good question personally. i have an enclosure that is about 30" high and its housed in my finished basement. the thermometer at the bottom has been reading as low as 62 in the morning. i have red 60W bulb on all the time at the top, but wasnt sure if more heat is needed. he seems to be eating ok so i havent been overly concerned.