Help with heating!

[NathanK22]

Hey everyone!! So recently I noticed my heat was starting to decrease on my lesser ball pythons warm side. When I looked under my tank I noticed that the heat pad had fallen off. How can I go about reattaching it? My dad says I should try to put something under it to push it back closer to the glass. Would that work and what would I use? Any help will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!

[PitOnTheProwl]

Aluminum foil tape on the edges.
They usually don't fall off unless you are not regulating it.

[NathanK22]

Aluminum foil tape. Ok but wouldn't the tape just make a melted stick mess from being riight in the heat pad? Is there. Another way? Also what do you mean by not regulating it?

[Crowfingers]

UTH need to be on a thermostat to control how hot they get. Without a thermostat they run full power 24/7, this can cause burns to your snake as it heats the glass too much. The glass should not get about 90-91*F in case the snake burrows under your substrate. Aluminum does not melt until it reaches 1220*F, so your UTH will never even come slightly close to that.

[NathanK22]

Ok yah I don't have it on a thermostat because I don't have much money so theirs good to know. Hank you so much usually if his warm side is too hot I just add my bedding to even out the temperature but this is good to know. Any less expensive thermostats you can tell me about the only ones I know are the zoo med ones and they are $30+.

[Crowfingers]

Amazon has some good deals - usually from $15-$20. If your a student sign up for amazon prime and you may not have to pay shipping. I use this one - Zilla Reptile Terrarium Heat & Habitat Lighting Temp. Controller, 500W - it's not the most high tech and it takes some trial and error to get the temp where you need it, but its better than nothing. You should turn it off until you get a regulator, if he's in a tank you can use a heat lamp on a dimmer to keep him warm until them. Some of the lamps come with a built in dimmer switch. Make sure you are measuring with a digital thermometer - the little stick on ones that come with the tanks are 12-15 degrees off. Same with the stick on humidity ones

[PitOnTheProwl]

Aluminum foil tape. Ok but wouldn't the tape just make a melted stick mess from being riight in the heat pad? Is there. Another way? Also what do you mean by not regulating it?

No it wont. It is made to be in hot spaces.

Ok yah I don't have it on a thermostat because I don't have much money so theirs good to know. Hank you so much usually if his warm side is too hot I just add my bedding to even out the temperature but this is good to know. Any less expensive thermostats you can tell me about the only ones I know are the zoo med ones and they are $30+.

If you cannot fund a thermostat I can be certain that you cannot afford a vet bill for a cooked snake.
Snakes can and will burrow so either regulate it with a thermostat/dimmer or unplug it.

[chrid16371]

A lamp dimmer is only $12-$15 at Lowes. If go this route make sure you keep an eye on temps throughout the day bc it will fluctuate depending on room temp. You could also order a sct-1000 from ebay (don't get one that is shipped from China unless you don't live in the US bc it will take forever to get) and then you just need an heavy duty extension cord doesn't have to be very long. You will have to cut the extension cord and splice wires so you or someone you know needs to know general wiring and electricity. This makes a on/off thermostat for about $20 that only fluctuates 1 degree at a time and you wont have to adjust like a lamp dimmer do to room temps. There is also a video on YouTube that will show you how to put it all together. I think your first option would be to try work something out with a parent to get a Herpstat 1 or VE-200D or at least a VE-100 and you will pay them back in payments or some other way.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

[Willowy]

You can get a Hydrofarm thermostat from Amazon for about $30. That's a lot cheaper than a vet bill! BPs, for some reason, don't seem to realize when they're getting burned so they don't move off the heat like some reptiles would.

And, yeah, the aluminum tape is used for high-heat applications. It's the real duct tape. . .HVAC workers just hate the stuff called "duct tape" because it's a disaster if you use it on ducts. The aluminum tape won't melt or get sticky. Most places sell a big roll and it's not super cheap. . .check a dollar store; they may have a smaller roll. Or you could ask an HVAC business for the end of a roll. . .I'm sure they wouldn't charge much.

[ScottS]

Email your address to me (scotmar3@gmail.com) and I'll send you a Zilla temp controller I no longer need, I switched to Vivariums