Human Heaters to use with a Sterilite -

Hey, I was wondering what brand and model of human heaters you use, and I'm planning to use it with my Sterilite -

any human pad that doesnt shut off automatically and has a hi/med/lo switch

Yeah I just can't seem to find a store that sells "human heaters", maybe its cause I live in FL =/

It's just a regular heating pad people use for back aches and that kind of thing. They usually have them at walmart somewhere around the pharmacy sections.

http://novogate.com/forums/1647/user/23319/9707.jpg

OoOh Thank you for the picture, I kinda had an idea that it was for back aches, but wasn't really sure. Thought it might be kinda like those foot warmers for winter. Thanks! :D

Ooh I just found some at walgreens website, do you guys keep the heating cloth on or off, and what setting do you keep it on to keep temps high without a lamp ... The temp in my home is about 70-75 ...

I don't think it really matters if you keep the cover on or off, some people have said they keep it on to provide more even heat, but I don't know if that's true.

Those heating pads get pretty hot, it will probably be fine on low. In fact, mine is too hot on low, so I have it hooked up to a thermostat. A lot of people use dimmer switches to keep the temp from getting too high. Just make sure you test it out before putting the snake in the enclosure.

Yeah I'm actually using a dimmer with my reptile heater pad, but I've realized its really junky.
I'd rather get a human heater to use with my sterilite home, that I am planning to build shortly.
Its a bit hard testing the temp with heater pads, because the air and ground temps are different.

Also can you recommend any thermostats?

I use a Zoomed thermostat. They can be pretty pricey at the pet store, but LLL Reptile has them for 12.99.

http://lllreptile.com/v2/content/cat...att-thermostat

Thank You! :D I love you! :D

You're Welcome. LOL!!

Wow that thermostat seems like a really easy way to keep temps at a good level.


Hmm actually, I might order from that site ... is it a trustworthy site?

I haven't had any experience with it(no credit card...cant order online :cry: ), but I'm sure it's a trustworthy site. Some people from this site have probably done some business with them. :)

Edit: I just checked out their site. They have customer quotes right on their main page. I'm sure they're trustworthy, lol. :wink:

Sweet, I'll order the thermostat tomorrow morning after work.
THANKS GUYS!

No problem! Remember, we love you too. ;) lol

Oh Oh I have another question, ... How many holes should I drill in the sterilite for air ... I know I need one big hold covered with mesh for the lamp ... but do I need any extra holes?
Will a heat pad be enough to keep the temps at 90s, my room temp is in the 70s

I asked the same question in the "90 qt sterilite" sticky thread, and was told that if you have the mesh top for the lamp, it should provide enough ventilation.
And I'm sure a human heat pad will be plenty for heating if you're using a sterilite. I think those are supposed to hold heat better, aswell as humidity better, compared to the glass tanks. I dunno though. No experience with sterilites yet. :)

=D

Are you sure BP's don't need a basking light and UVA Rays?

I'm positive, lol. :) They're nocturnal creatures, so if you do give them a basking light(just something to raise temps a bit in a certain area like a basking branch) I'd make sure it's a red light like an infrared bulb, so the light doesn't bother them, since they cant see the red spectrum of light. :D
And I'm pretty sure they don't benefit from UVA lights at all really. So no need for those.

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet, I have a busy busy day tomorrow. I think I'll make a list of what I need to buy and do before I forget it all.
Thanks for all the help, I can't wait for my baby to get big and fat.

No problem.:D
I can't wait till later this week or next week, when I get some cash. Then I can finally get the last few necessities for my tank, and then get it set up and tweaked, then FINALLY get my BP! Can't wait. I've been waiting forever. :twisted:

The heating pad should be enough, if not you could add a second heating pad, or try using the lamp. Otherwise, you don't need the lamp, as cody said, they don't need the light for basking or anything.

If you do have a big hole for a lamp, that should be enough for air. If not, just drill some holes on each side. I drilled like 10 holes on each side of my rubbermaid, but you don't even need that much, because they're air tight. I ended up drilling more holes because the humidity was so high I wanted more ventilation.

Okay another question - You mentioned Zoo Med 500 Watt Thermostat
Does it have a dial with numbers from like 70 - 100
Or does it have like low - hot dial without numbers? ...


The one I'm talking about is listed below -
http://lllreptile.com/v2/content/cat...att-thermostat

No numbers, just low to high. What you do is get the heating pad on until it is at the floortemp you want, probably about 90 degrees(using your digital thermometer to measure). Then you unplug the heating pad, plug it into the thermostat, and plug the thermostat into the wall. Then you adjust the dial so that the light is on, and then turn it slightly lower until the light goes off. At that point, if it gets any cooler, the light should go back on and your heating pad will start heating up again until it's back around 90, then it will automatically shut off again. You'll see when you get it altogether, and let me know if you have questions about it then.

Man, I wished they shipped overseas :( For a thermostat like that I'd have to pay at least 50€ here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gen

No numbers, just low to high. What you do is get the heating pad on until it is at the floortemp you want, probably about 90 degrees(using your digital thermometer to measure). Then you unplug the heating pad, plug it into the thermostat, and plug the thermostat into the wall. Then you adjust the dial so that the light is on, and then turn it slightly lower until the light goes off. At that point, if it gets any cooler, the light should go back on and your heating pad will start heating up again until it's back around 90, then it will automatically shut off again. You'll see when you get it altogether, and let me know if you have questions about it then.

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Arg, I thought it had numbers! :( It says Range from 70 - 110 degrees, so I expected numbers ... this is going to be harder then I thought!

It's not that hard, trust me. Once you get it set up, you can pretty much leave it alone and let it do it's job. You just keep your eye on your temps, and tweek the dial a bit now and then if necessary. Just let me know if you have any questions getting it set up.

So, if I'm having trouble getting the temps up to where they should be (they are only a couple of degrees lower on both sides than I'd like) on both types of enclosures (one aquarium and one sterilite) and we're using the heating pads for both, a thermostat really isn't going to solve my problem, is it?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sophie42204

So, if I'm having trouble getting the temps up to where they should be (they are only a couple of degrees lower on both sides than I'd like) on both types of enclosures (one aquarium and one sterilite) and we're using the heating pads for both, a thermostat really isn't going to solve my problem, is it?

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Well if you got an infared lamp 50W, it would warm the temps up in the tank/sterilite ... and the thermostat would make sure the temps don't go over.

I need to get a thermostat because I'll be using a heat lamo and heating pad too. The one in the link seems like a good one so I guess I'll order it sometime over the weekend. 8)

Sophie, what setting are your heating pads on? Low, med, high?

They are both on High (I tested them to make sure they weren't wired wrong) & I also use a blacklight (actually they call it a red bulb) for Sophie's tank....Marla suggested awhile back that the sterilite needs to be the 'sweater box' type as we are currently using the deeper type for Smitty, not sure why I can't get the temps higher on the tank though.