dumb question!

[orko]

Okay guys, dumb question - is it okay to leave a store bought heater pad on all the time? I use it to heat my kingsnake and I was wondering if it was safe to leave it on without the risk of starting a fire. I know most of you use heater pads, so I figured this was the place to ask. I'm new to this hobby (yeah, that question was a dead give away) :)
Thanks,
Derek I

[peterm15]

i leave mine on all the time.. just reguarly check temps.. and keep an eye on it.. ive had mine one for about a year now with no probs.. a thermosdat would be a good idea.. but mine is fine..

p.s. its a reptile one..

[HeatherRose]

Oh you silly, there's no dumb questions :p

A store bought reptile heating pad is designed to be left on constantly, HOWEVER a human heating pad is not, and that's where there would be a risk.

:)

[orko]

Uh oh - I got a store bought one for human use. I was looking at a reptile one in my local pet store and the guy told me they get too hot for rubbermaid-type containers. Unfortunetly, that's what I'm using. Is this guy right? Or is he feeding me B.S.?
Thanks for the quick response guys :)
Derek

[HeatherRose]

He's not feeding you that much BS (surprisingly :p). Some of them do get very hot, some don't. I belive those that DO get very hot get to something like 135 degrees.

Your safest bet would be to jet over to a hardware store (Rona's, Home Depot) and get a dimmer for a couple bucks. Plug the heat pad into the dimmer, and the dimmer into the wall.

[orko]

Kick ***!!!! Thanks Heather! I'll do that tomorrow. Whew - the amount of information one can absorb is never ending in this hobby.
Thanks,
Derek

[gargoyle]

Better yet a reptile thermostat like the Helix or Herpstat!

[Slannesh]

Human heating pads are fine to use as well... i've been using them for nearly a decade with no problems yet. You will need to replace them every few years though. Basically when they start getting the dark spot in the middle of the pad is when I've been replacing mine.

With the reptile heat pads some sort of thermostat or rheostat (Dimmer) is essential as they can get very hot.

Both are fine to leave on 24/7

I think a Helix or Herpstat is total overkill for a single enclosure, but that is up to the individual to decide, a simple lamp dimmer can do the job so long as you monitor the temps.