Almost A Disaster!!

Yesterday, we had a successful feeding! Yay!! I dethawed in warm water and then provided some extra heat with my CHE bulb.

However, I also had a last minute guest coming over, so my mind was all over the place. Gave the mouse, he took it (I don't think I'll ever not jump when he strikes!)

Didn't think about turning off the CHE. Stupidly put it on the floor in my haste to let my friend inside completely forgetting to shut it off or unplug it.

About a half hour later, my roommate came out of the kitchen and said, "what's that smell?" Which we thought was oil paint. But when *I* went into the kitchen, the smell was insanely powerful and I saw the lamp face down on the floor and shrieked. Picked it up and you can see... What was left.

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca88...Blwam--MUJSXQQ

Bubbled up the linoleum, used the heat gun thermometer and it said 330 degrees! And took a very long time and a lot of water to cool it down. I'm sure it got to whatever the lino is glued on to too.

Bulb didn't get much damage, gonna buy a new one anyway

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca88...uMomC_8c1BFRDQ

Happy I didn't burn the apartment down, but landlord isn't going to be happy :please:

Oops! Yes, that could have been tragic...glad the floor isn't more flammable & all is OK.

Yowsers!!! Close call!!

I did something sort of similar a few months ago. Except I would swear to this day that the power strip the thermostat (and therefore the CHE) was plugged into was turned off. We had been testing on a tank for our corn to go bioactive and I had decided the bulb was too weak and to skip it for UTH instead since it couldn't penetrate heat low enough for a hot spot and this corn isn't an avid climber.

So instead of going onto the tank, I put it on the shelf below after flipping off its power strip. I remember clearly turning off the power strip (instead of the switch on the lamp since it was hanging in back hard to reach) before setting it down, so we're still scratching out heads as to how it was turned on. As far as I can guess, the dog must have stepped on the power strip just right to turn it back on right before we left.

But we got back from lunch and it had made some nice charring on a shelf of a 55 gallon aquarium stand. One with the plastic coated particle board shelves. No fire, luckily. It was just On since the probe was hanging in the tank still, nowhere near the lamp on the shelf below.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d298b43690.jpg


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Oops, just put a rug on top of it and no one will notice. :P Except maybe having a rug in the kitchen would just look suspicious. lol

It looks like your security/cleaning deposit will be applied to the removal & replacement of 3 or 4 tiles when you move...very glad it wasn't far worse.

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Originally Posted by pretends2bnormal

I did something sort of similar a few months ago. Except I would swear to this day that the power strip the thermostat (and therefore the CHE) was plugged into was turned off. We had been testing on a tank for our corn to go bioactive and I had decided the bulb was too weak and to skip it for UTH instead since it couldn't penetrate heat low enough for a hot spot and this corn isn't an avid climber.

So instead of going onto the tank, I put it on the shelf below after flipping off its power strip. I remember clearly turning off the power strip (instead of the switch on the lamp since it was hanging in back hard to reach) before setting it down, so we're still scratching out heads as to how it was turned on. As far as I can guess, the dog must have stepped on the power strip just right to turn it back on right before we left.

But we got back from lunch and it had made some nice charring on a shelf of a 55 gallon aquarium stand. One with the plastic coated particle board shelves. No fire, luckily. It was just On since the probe was hanging in the tank still, nowhere near the lamp on the shelf below.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...d298b43690.jpg


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Yikes!! I'm glad I'm not the only one who's had this happen, though even if it's really unfortunate :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

It looks like your security/cleaning deposit will be applied to the removal & replacement of 3 or 4 tiles when you move...very glad it wasn't far worse.

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Yeah it won't be too bad, only 4 tiles but I'm not sure what damage looks like under them if there is any :please:

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Originally Posted by Mirakuru

Yeah it won't be too bad, only 4 tiles but I'm not sure what damage looks like under them if there is any :please:

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Do you have a friend or family member who can fix it?

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

Do you have a friend or family member who can fix it?

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I'm sure someone could do it, but most of the apartment is open concept with all the same linoleum style... Could be hard to find the same one :/

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Originally Posted by Mirakuru

Yeah it won't be too bad, only 4 tiles but I'm not sure what damage looks like under them if there is any :please:

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I doubt that's an issue & new tiles should cover the issue just fine. The other problem is that since this is pet-related, some managers may be more hesitant to rent to
those keeping reptiles in the future, so if you can think up a non-pet-related excuse for this damage, it might help future reptile-keeping renters. Accidents do happen,
but get unfairly magnified when connected to pets that many hate, like snakes. (your pets are allowed there, I assume?)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I doubt that's an issue & new tiles should cover the issue just fine. The other problem is that since this is pet-related, some managers may be more hesitant to rent to
those keeping reptiles in the future, so if you can think up a non-pet-related excuse for this damage, it might help future reptile-keeping renters. Accidents do happen,
but get unfairly magnified when connected to pets that many hate, like snakes. (your pets are allowed there, I assume?)

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Yup! LL knows about snake and kitty. I'm sure I have time to figure it all out with the roomies, come up with an excuse for it. He doesn't come to inspect or anything (it's all very... under the table) so we'll think of somethin for sure! He doesn't rent to people with dogs, but no issue with snakes (yet?) I don't think he even knows they need a heat source like that.


Edit: That being said, any ideas for the excuse? :P

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Originally Posted by Mirakuru

I'm sure someone could do it, but most of the apartment is open concept with all the same linoleum style... Could be hard to find the same one :/

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Yeah, finding matching tiles may be the hardest part. If the landlord is smart he/she has extras, but that would mean you're paying for it.
Oh well, at least it wasn't worse. Best of luck.

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Originally Posted by Mirakuru

Edit: That being said, any ideas for the excuse? :P

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Accidentally left an iron on and it fell/got knocked off the counter? (If I assumed it was off, I might leave it to grab in a few minutes rather than pick it up immediately)


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Originally Posted by pretends2bnormal

Accidentally left an iron on and it fell/got knocked off the counter? (If I assumed it was off, I might leave it to grab in a few minutes rather than pick it up immediately)


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Wrong shape...more like a light bulb "of some kind". ;) I think a shade-less lamp must have fallen over...?

BTW, my sun-room has indoor-outdoor carpeting, & the previous resident apparently did some sewing & ironed fabric on the floor...her iron left a clear imprint, there's
no doubt whatsoever of what made that mark, lol. Not a big deal to me, I laughed when I saw it, & never replaced the carpet -as of yet.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Wrong shape...more like a light bulb "of some kind". ;) I think a shade-less lamp must have fallen over...?

BTW, my sun-room has indoor-outdoor carpeting, & the previous resident apparently did some sewing & ironed fabric on the floor...her iron left a clear imprint, there's
no doubt whatsoever of what made that mark, lol. Not a big deal to me, I laughed when I saw it, & never replaced the carpet -as of yet.

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Some of the small, cheap college-type irons I've seen are pretty close. Most of the cheap ones I've seen aren't the stereotypical shape, somehow.

I just can't think of any sort of normal light bulb that would get hot enough to make any sense.

Small saucepan fell off the stove/tripped over something and dropped? Mess got cleaned up, but a super hot bottom of the pot/pan left the mark.

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I'd just be honest.

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

I'd just be honest.

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I prefer to be honest, but as I said (above) this can reflect negatively on future snake-keeping renters, especially when snakes aren't exactly popular pets. But
they've got time to think about it, at least.

Being honest is definitely an option I'm leaning towards, as I really don't think theres much that would make it be a valid excuse. Probably the closest option is pretends2bnormal's suggestion of a really small saucepan, but then again that'd be a really small saucepan :giggle:

Maybe LL will understand it was an isolated incident that doesn't normally happen. I really hope it wouldn't affect letting someone keep reptiles in the future though :(

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Originally Posted by Mirakuru

Being honest is definitely an option I'm leaning towards, as I really don't think theres much that would make it be a valid excuse. Probably the closest option is pretends2bnormal's suggestion of a really small saucepan, but then again that'd be a really small saucepan :giggle:

Maybe LL will understand it was an isolated incident that doesn't normally happen. I really hope it wouldn't affect letting someone keep reptiles in the future though :(

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I'm with bogertophis on this, lying isn't good of course, but any bad press that can be avoided here is good. Renting and reptiles is already hard enough without adding to it. Especially for something only peripherally related to an animal and not a result of a required care need of the animal. Thawing can be done in water in bags, so a fire hazard is nonexistent for many other keepers. (I.e. not directly caused by the animal. The snake did not pee and cause burns to the floor. No cat scratching up baseboards)

Maybe just say you had a heating lamp to thaw something out, could've been some frozen meat or frozen bread, (omit saying rodent) and accidentally set it down flat with it still turned on when the doorbell rang/people arrived. This is still 100% the truth and it isn't really relevant if you had seen it on pinterest as an idea to try to thaw some frozen food for you before baking vs a feeder for the snake.



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Originally Posted by pretends2bnormal

I'm with bogertophis on this, lying isn't good of course, but any bad press that can be avoided here is good. Renting and reptiles is already hard enough without adding to it. Especially for something only peripherally related to an animal and not a result of a required care need of the animal. Thawing can be done in water in bags, so a fire hazard is nonexistent for many other keepers. (I.e. not directly caused by the animal. The snake did not pee and cause burns to the floor. No cat scratching up baseboards)

Maybe just say you had a heating lamp to thaw something out, could've been some frozen meat or frozen bread, (omit saying rodent) and accidentally set it down flat with it still turned on when the doorbell rang/people arrived. This is still 100% the truth and it isn't really relevant if you had seen it on pinterest as an idea to try to thaw some frozen food for you before baking vs a feeder for the snake.



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That actually sounds really valid. Thanks for your suggestions guys!

I'm assuming the landlord knows the snake is in the house?

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

I'm assuming the landlord knows the snake is in the house?

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Yes, OP said the landlord knows about both the snake and the cat.

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Originally Posted by pretends2bnormal

Yes, OP said the landlord knows about both the snake and the cat.

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Whoops, missed it. Thank you.

If I'm being real with you... I'd really say be honest. You definitely don't want any bad blood between you and your landlord. Having to move because he/she found out you lied would stink. Landlord could jack the price of rent after the current lease is up, not allow you to sign another lease, or simply evict you.
If a tenant of mine did that, and were honest, I'd likely let it slide, accidents happen. If I had a few spare tiles I'd just fix it and move on, appreciating your honesty.
If I found out the tenant lied, they'd be out the day the lease expired without getting the deposit back.

...but that's me. I've been a landlord in the past, as well as a tenant, so I see both sides.

As for thinking it'll cause ill will toward the hobby, I simply disagree. It wasn't animal problem, it was human error. Could have happened a million different ways not pertaining to pets. The animal did nothing, it was properly secured in the enclosure.

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

Whoops, missed it. Thank you.

If I'm being real with you... I'd really say be honest. You definitely don't want any bad blood between you and your landlord. Having to move because he/she found out you lied would stink. Landlord could jack the price of rent after the current lease is up, not allow you to sign another lease, or simply evict you.
If a tenant of mine did that, and were honest, I'd likely let it slide, accidents happen. If I had a few spare tiles I'd just fix it and move on, appreciating your honesty.
If I found out the tenant lied, they'd be out the day the lease expired without getting the deposit back.

...but that's me. I've been a landlord in the past, as well as a tenant, so I see both sides.

As for thinking it'll cause ill will toward the hobby, I simply disagree. It wasn't animal problem, it was human error. Could have happened a million different ways not pertaining to pets. The animal did nothing, it was properly secured in the enclosure.

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I guess I'm just not seeing a huge difference between the following scenarios:

To landlord: "Hey, I screwed up and burnt a few tiles in the kitchen, looks like 3 or 4 damaged <insert picture>. I was thawing something with a heat lamp, got distracted, and set it down there without turning it off by accident. Looks like it is just surface damage, but I'm not sure what tiles to replace them with or if you want me to let you arrange replacing them at my expense."

And

To landlord: "Hey, I screwed up and burnt a few tiles in the kitchen, looks like 3 or 4 damaged <insert picture>. I was thawing a rat for my snake with a heat lamp, got distracted, and set it down there without turning it off by accident. Looks like it is just surface damage, but I'm not sure what tiles to replace them with or if you want me to let you arrange replacing them at my expense."

Both are completely true, but it seems a lot less likely to get a big back and forth about why a heat lamp or snakes and instead focus on getting it fixed rather than what exactly caused it. If asked what was thawing, sure explain it was a rat, but does it really matter what was being thawed for the initial message?

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Originally Posted by pretends2bnormal

I guess I'm just not seeing a huge difference between the following scenarios:

To landlord: "Hey, I screwed up and burnt a few tiles in the kitchen, looks like 3 or 4 damaged <insert picture>. I was thawing something with a heat lamp, got distracted, and set it down there without turning it off by accident. Looks like it is just surface damage, but I'm not sure what tiles to replace them with or if you want me to let you arrange replacing them at my expense."

And

To landlord: "Hey, I screwed up and burnt a few tiles in the kitchen, looks like 3 or 4 damaged <insert picture>. I was thawing a rat for my snake with a heat lamp, got distracted, and set it down there without turning it off by accident. Looks like it is just surface damage, but I'm not sure what tiles to replace them with or if you want me to let you arrange replacing them at my expense."

Both are completely true, but it seems a lot less likely to get a big back and forth about why a heat lamp or snakes and instead focus on getting it fixed rather than what exactly caused it. If asked what was thawing, sure explain it was a rat, but does it really matter what was being thawed for the initial message?

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I see your point. I just did enough lying for 3 lifetimes before getting clean and sober. I just believe honesty goes a long way.

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

I see your point. I just did enough lying for 3 lifetimes before getting clean and sober. I just believe honesty goes a long way.

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Yeah, I can understand that. It just came across a bit over the top to say it's a lie in the first one I put of the 2 examples there. Wasn't sure if the way I'd described originally just got misunderstood and came across wrong or if just leaving the what was thawing more vague for brevity sake in solving the resulting issue was what you thought was being dishonest. Glad we got the confusion cleared up. :)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by pretends2bnormal

Yeah, I can understand that. It just came across a bit over the top to say it's a lie in the first one I put of the 2 examples there. Wasn't sure if the way I'd described originally just got misunderstood and came across wrong or if just leaving the what was thawing more vague for brevity sake in solving the resulting issue was what you thought was being dishonest. Glad we got the confusion cleared up. :)

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No, no. I definitely see your point and am definitely not criticizing. I just had to make changes in my life and in my recovery and honesty is a huge part of that. So whenever possible I prefer to just be honest. Mistakes happen, people forgive and appreciate honesty.

I appreciate & believe in honesty too, but in this case, the landlord would realize there is a risk of fire from allowing the keeping of herps that need such equipment.
I still think the truth is apt to change their policy, and even if herps are still allowed they might insist on a huge damage deposit to go with their insurance coverage.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I appreciate & believe in honesty too, but in this case, the landlord would realize there is a risk of fire from allowing the keeping of herps that need such equipment.
I still think the truth is apt to change their policy, and even if herps are still allowed they might insist on a huge damage deposit to go with their insurance coverage.

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I don't disagree, but I would think the landlord would be aware of the risks prior to allowing the pets in the first place

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

I don't disagree, but I would think the landlord would be aware of the risks prior to allowing the pets in the first place

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This is why I posted what I did:

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Originally Posted by Mirakuru

Yup! LL knows about snake and kitty....He doesn't rent to people with dogs, but no issue with snakes (yet?) I don't think he even knows they need a heat source like that.
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Not according to the OP...;) & IMO, this (ie. the damage done) is a risky way to introduce the topic.

While I can't think of anything that would make such a mark on the floor, another way to handle this is to "damage" over the damage-
in other words, scrape it with heavy furniture or something that obscures the burn & makes for a better story to replace the damage.
;)

It's been a long time since I rented, but I can sympathize with landlords...however, I've also had them try to take advantage of me,
& they even admitted they tried to keep MY deposit to cover damages ($ lost) from a different tenant! :mad: (I fought them & won...)

I did something similar the first day I got my thermostat for the UTE mat- plugged in the CHE by mistake, and it was sitting on top of one of the glass panels I commissioned for the top of the tank. Heard a weird sound and smelled a bit of something burning beforehand discovering that it had cracked the glass panel underneath with such a hot temp! (had it turned away up because the UTE wasn't getting any hotter lmao) Was not happy about having to buy another one :'v

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Originally Posted by Quarks

I did something similar the first day I got my thermostat for the UTE mat- plugged in the CHE by mistake, and it was sitting on top of one of the glass panels I commissioned for the top of the tank. Heard a weird sound and smelled a bit of something burning beforehand discovering that it had cracked the glass panel underneath with such a hot temp! (had it turned away up because the UTE wasn't getting any hotter lmao) Was not happy about having to buy another one :'v

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Omg that's such a bummer!! I'm sure you know mistakes happen :oops: like now I know about my own. Thanks for sharing!

Under the heading of personal damage, I've heard of keepers getting burned when they touch a hot CHE too: they're used to using lights that are obvious when
on (hot), they forget & touch the CHE thinking it's off...ouch!

We've all made dumb mistakes in life. They tend to teach us to be more careful, you'll never do something like that again. If that is your worst one in your life it won't be too bad. Some people have made dumb mistakes and caused loss of life to family and loved ones, others, property.etc. Think of the ones that caused the forest fire in Calif.
I once put on grease on a hot stove to cook french fries and then decided I was gonna take a bath. I was in the bath tub and smelled smoke. I came out to see flames reaching to the ceiling so I then headed to the sink with the pot on fire and a voice in my head said don't do that. I put a rug over it so I charred the ceiling and the floor. My neighbor lady seen the commotion and came and swung open the side door. I was naked on the floor. I grabbed some clothes quick the fire department came. Gave me some oxygen because of all the smoke. I also rented, my land lady and land lord forgave me. I had to fix it though if I remember right at my expense.

I now try to be more careful when something can cause a fire. Like I use the microwave instead of the stove a lot of the time. I decided to quit using che's because they get so hot and you cant tell when they are on or off. I now use heat bulb ( night dark type ) and I always turn them off and tilt them with the dome's upside down with the bulb toward the ceiling. You could change from che's to heat bulbs ( night type ) and tell your land lord you got rid of the che's and don't plan on using them anymore. Tell him you now thing they can be dangerous. ( and they can be ) That way the heat source responsible ( along with your forgetting ) will no longer be around to cause him worry.

If you lie the first time one of your room mates gets mad at you and tells your landlord what really happened you will more likely be out. Might put you out if you tell the truth too but you will have least told the truth. I use 100 watt zilla black light bulbs and it's on a thermostat I actually use 2 on a 40 gal. screen topped critter cage. both on thermostat's. They actually heat the ambient better imo. Let us know what happens I am sure we are all concerned.

Used car dealers are known for being shady. Lets hope snake keepers don't earn themselves the same reputation. I'd like to be known for being honest regardless whether it was my fault or not. Just my opinion.

Are you allowed to smoke in the apartment? A dropped cigar, if left long enough, could realistically create a nice round burn that size after a little while.

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Originally Posted by fadingdaylight

Are you allowed to smoke in the apartment? A dropped cigar, if left long enough, could realistically create a nice round burn that size after a little while.

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I like the way you think...;)