Howdy! New here and pretty new to BP's - And....I have an issue with my new BP

Yep, a UTH on plastic is fine as long as it's controlled. I have Flexwatt in my racks and I use tubs with no problems.

You can actually pick up a halfway decent thermostat at Petco for around $35. They can also be found all over the internet.

Once you have a way to control your heat, get you a good sized tub, poke a few vent holes in it and you'll be good.

Gale

Ok so as much as I've read about the dangers of heat rocks, along with one of my iguanas came a large supposedly self regulating heat rock. I plugged it in to make sure it works and I can see the little light on the side turn off and on regulating itself. I'll make it to the pet store Sunday due to my work schedule and the fact that where I get all my reptile stuff is 30 miles away.

Will that work temporarily to provide heat? Or are the dangers too great in using it even for two days or so?

PS, this thing is about a foot wide by a foot wide.

I have seen first hand the damage a heat rock can do, so normally that is a big no-no in my book.

Now, a self-regulating heat rock is not something I'm familiar with, so I can't say about that.

Does this thing have a way for you to adjust the temperature it regulates to ? Or is it preset and that's it ? If you can choose the temp it reaches I would think that would be ok as a stop-gap measure. If not, I'd be really leery because iguanas can tolerate much higher temps than balls I'm pretty sure.

To best judge in a pinch, plug it in, wait for it to warm up then lay your hand on it. It should be barely warm or not warm at all to you. If it feels noticeably warm to you, it will be too hot for your ball. Our body temp is 98 or so, but of course your hands are cooler. I find I can sense the warmth in something with my palm starting at around 90-92.

If your snake room is decently warm, even no heat for two days or so won't hurt as long as you don't feed and there is no draft. It's better than a burned ball.

Gale

Ok so I read this and pulled out the heat rock. It was warm to my touch. I cut the cord off the sucker, put it back inside and put a lamp with a ceramic heat emmitter in it over the rock. It made the rock a little warm but I turned it off, figuring residual heat through the night.

I found a rubbermaid storage trunk in my attic, cut a hole in the top and used cable ties to hold mesh on. On that I put the dome lamp with the heat emmitter.

It's what I had around the house :) Tomorrow is petstore day!

And yes it was a pre-set type heat rock. It turned on and off I guess once it reached a certain temp. No more, now it's just a rock LOL

If you don't likePet stores do occasionally stock some of the cheaper thermostats like the ReptiTemp 500r or the Alife 1000, but their retail mark-up is ridiculous. You can get better thermostats at better prices online. Depending on the type and features that you want, they will cost you from about $25-$350. Here are some links, starting with a good basic model up to the top of the line models.

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...1529683&sr=1-7

http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermostats/

http://www.spyderrobotics.com/store/