temporary heat source

i will be getting flex watt heat tape in august i just cant afford it untill then. my BPs are around 70 right now and i just turned the dehumidifier on to make it alittle hotter. with that on it gets to just around 78-80 degrees. what i am asking is what is a good temporary heat source untill i get the tape in august!? thanks alot!!

~steven~

Hi,

For the cool side? Yes.

For the hot side? Not even close. :(

have a look at the caresheet for the temps we recommend.


dr del

Sorry,

I misread your question. :oops:

If you cannot afford heat tape then you cannot really afford any of the alternatives either most likely. :(

The most expensive part of the heating setup is the control for it - and all the heatsources you can get need to be controlled.

You can try and use a rheostat (dimmer switch ) in the short term if your house temps are stable enough but a good thermostat will be your biggest and best ally in keeping your pet happy and healthy.

Dimmer switches start around $9 I think for the lutron lamp dimmer at Lowes but thermostats start at around $25-$30 with the most recommended ones being $80 or $120 for proportional.

If you describe your set up we should be able to give more specific advice on what you need.


dr del

Back when I was figuring my husbandry out I was saving for a thermostat and was definitely not going to hook a UTH up to a tub unregulated, so I used the heating pad that you or I would use on a sore muscle or something. I kept it set to low and it kept them at 95* pretty consistently. But they aren't meant to be on all the time so this can potentially be dangerous. Mine were on heat pads for maybe a month with no ill effects.


This is NOT recommended but it worked for me.