who uses a human heat pad for their herps

latazyo · 02-20-04, 04:27 PM

hi, I'm finishing up my plans for my corn snake and I've come across some recommendations for human heat pads

being about 1/2 the price of UTHs they have caught my attention, but I'm wondering if it is safe to run them 24/7 and how long they last, since they aren't designed to be used that way

please share your human heat pad experiences

Dark_Angel_25 · 02-20-04, 04:29 PM

I usre one for my 5 ft tank with a UTH just to keep the cool side ideal.. I leave it on all the time and have no problems. When I used it alon though, I find it did not raise the temps enough on its own..

marisa · 02-20-04, 04:31 PM

I use one currently on my female ball pythons enclosure. It creates a hot spot of 90 and is controlled by a reptile thermastat. Using a heat controlling device is a MUST with any heating pad, especially human.

But anyways, I love it so far. Steady temps, easy to wash cover for it, and it seems safe. I do replace once per year just to give myself peice of mind that its always in good working condition and they are only 20-30 bucks.

Marisa

Ed_r · 02-20-04, 04:46 PM

If you go with the human heat pads, they work great, dont put it any higher than medium though cuz they do get quite hot. Also Do NOT get the 'smart" human heat pads cuz they will shut of on you over some time. then your snake will be heatless. Best is to use some flexwatt and a rheostat.(dont leave flexwatt in the cage where thte snake can sit on it , it will get burned)

latazyo · 02-20-04, 05:14 PM

I'm not sure what flexwatt is, and the heating apparatus will go on the bottom of the cage and will have to heat through 5/8" plywood

Slannesh · 02-20-04, 06:25 PM

I use human heating pads on both my Ball's enclosure and my Leos... temps are relatively stable thought I do want to get Flexwatt for my racks.

BOAS_N_PYTHONS · 02-20-04, 06:38 PM

LATAZYP:

We use radient heat panels in our larger cages but all our rubbermaid sit on human heat pads from WalMart - $29.00 or so.

They have 3 settings and the middle one will be great at 85 - 95 F.

Cya...

Tony

RachelS. · 02-20-04, 06:52 PM

ME!!! I like them for my snakes. My lizards, like the iguana and bearded dragon get heat lamps. They work awesomely

MouseKilla · 02-20-04, 06:53 PM

One I have didn't warn me that it was one of the stupid kind that shut off by themselves so save the receipt, I kept the one I got for my back.lol I hear that the SunBeam brand ones are the other kind that don't shut off and also that you can get a model that is twice as long as a normal one.

Lisa · 02-20-04, 08:05 PM

I don't like human heat pads, they weren't designed to be on 24/7

mild · 02-20-04, 10:54 PM

I use nothing but human heat pads for my snakes.

I have 8 of them running now and no problems with them for 1 year now. I hear they ussaly last 2-3 years. Keep it on med like said above because they do get hot!

Slannesh · 02-21-04, 12:36 AM

I've never had a problem with them in 7 years of using them... they do tend to stop working after about 2-3 years however.

**Andy_G** · 02-21-04, 01:15 AM

I use the Sunbeam ones and they have worked great so far. They just came out with ones that shut off but they still have the ones that don't so im happy with those.

SerpentLust · 02-21-04, 01:44 AM

I use it in the winter as an extra heat source in the hot spot, winter is brutal here lol And when I'm not using it for my snake, I use it for myself

Nice and toasty

Jayson · 02-21-04, 09:30 AM

I have used them, but i checked them regularly for any kind of problems. human heat pads have been known to burn houses down so i am in no way implying that the are totaly safe.
Flex watt is cheaper.