ALWAYS tape your rheostats!

[CntrlF8]

Ok, so a little bit of advice for those of you using thermostats. ALWAYS tape them, or secure them in some way that they can't be turned up or down by accident. I now know the maximum temperature that a zoomed pad can reach thanks to an untaped dimmer and a curious cat. She somehow managed to turn it to full power, and when I checked my temps yesterday the hot side probe read 136.8 degrees. Luckily my big girl was not on the hot side, and doesn't have any burns.

136.8 degrees!!!

[Sunny1]

OMG!! I am so glad that she wasn't hurt!! I have to secure my tstat too, not from my cats, but from my 2 curious kids that can't help but to touch stuff that the know they aren't supposed to touch.....

[Nate]

wow that's hot

[CntrlF8]

wow that's hot

You're telling me... I think my one saving grace was that the probe is attached to the bottom of the tub, and there are 4 layers of newsprint between the probe and where she lays. I put my hand on the top layer and it was warmer than usual to the touch, but not even close to enough to burn me.

[Swingline0.0.1]

Yeah, my record was 113.4 before I got everything dialed in... I was trying to see how hot the UTH would get plugged right into the wall!

[sw204me]

What animal would need to 136 degrees? Why would they even make a pad that can get high? The highest mine has reached was I think like 105 degrees and thats when I was just getting the enclosure going and was a total moron with it all. Don't freak out, I had that 105 down to ~95 within 30-45 min.

[CntrlF8]

What animal would need to 136 degrees? Why would they even make a pad that can get high? The highest mine has reached was I think like 105 degrees and thats when I was just getting the enclosure going and was a total moron with it all. Don't freak out, I had that 105 down to ~95 within 30-45 min.

That's kinda the secondary point... The only reason I can see making a pad that gets THAT hot is if you're using a considerable amount of substrate with a species that doesn't borrow or dig at all. Possibly desert species as well, but I still think that's way too much.

I wish I'd taken a picture of it. I saw that and I literally panicked. Unplugged the pad, ripped the lid off the tub, and began inspecting her...