True, I have seen some nasty things when sticky gets on scales, though that's usually from a thermometer that had the foam sticky back piece. Maybe use some sealant instead, like acrylic caulking. I had electrical tape keeping some wires down in my PVC tank that I recently replaced with clear caulking just to make it look cleaner. I've had loose probes in my racks and PVC tanks before and my snakes are just destructive I think, lol. They always get moved around or pulled down...