Ball Python problems

[snunior]

Originally Posted by zero&stich

Not a stupid question at all. This is the first thing that intially scared me when I switched over. I actually have my pads on cookie cutter pans lol since metal isn't flammable and the pads can't burn through metal. And have the sterlites raised bout an inch and a half from the pads them selves.

So far, I'm still sitting in my house and nothing has burnt to dust yet. *knock on wood*

Okay i am switching to rubbermaid will my human heatpad burnthrough a metal pan on top of it and can i plc the rubbermaid on top of the pan or what i ever i use

[snunior]

are you guys against using a human heatpad?

[zero&stich]

Okay i am switching to rubbermaid will my human heatpad burnthrough a metal pan on top of it and can i plc the rubbermaid on top of the pan or what i ever i use

I use cookie cutter pans, lol. There is a small indentation in the pan itself which does cause a gap for me where the pad and my sterlight rest. So the sterlight is actually not rested directly on top of the pad itself. But I still have it level by adding a VHS tap on the right. (I heat everything from the left. I am a true left handed person.)

Human pads, well I used to use them for colubrids since most require little to no heat. Some people I've talked to say they are fine to use others say they are unstable and not meant to be on 24/7. I am with the second opinion as I believe human pads could potencially be unstable and could be a fire hazard.

If you want to use UTH's, you have a couple of choices. 1. Those 'speciel' reptile heat pads like ZooMed, heat mat, heat tape and heat rope/cord. The cheapest way to probably heat would probably be eaither heat tape or heat rope. I would probably go heat tape since tons of breeders and hobbyist use it. I haven't heard too many use heat rope, but I could be wrong. Whichever heating element you choose to fit your needs make absolutely sure that you are using a thermostat amd have a reliable thermometer/temp gun so you are 110% sure at ALL times what your temps are.

No one wants a cooked or frozen snakecyle.
Good luck.

[Slannesh]

no human or reptile heat pad will get hot enough to melt plastic. It's a moot point anyhow since your snake would be long dead before that happened anyhow. That being said, having some airflow and a way to control the temp of the pad is critical.

Personally I use a proportional thermostat, but those are a little pricy for most people. ($200ish) But a lamp dimmer works just fine as well. The important thing is to keep a close eye on the temperature till you have a good idea of what sort of fluctuations happen with it.