crazy, but mayb not so crazy idea

[rex322]

ok tell me what you guys think.i have a waterbed, and if anyone here has a one, you should know what the heaters look like. for those who dont, ill explain. its a mat, lik a UTH, and its control is a dial which has temp on it (70,75,80,etc) and to keep track of the temp it has a probe. well, i was thinking, this idea actually came to me a while ago, but could this be a good UTH? im thinking about getting one, and testing it to see if the temps are accurate. anyone think that would be a good idea? let me know what ya think.

[iceman25]

The only way to do is to try it out rex. It just depends on the size of the heater. Just dont put your snake in there while you test it out though May wanna leave it on for a week or so and monitor it first.

[JLC]

I could be wrong...but that SEEMS like a lot of trouble to go to for a heater. And how much do they cost? Specialized heaters like what you would use for a waterbed are usually expensive. Just look at what they charge for the tiny little ones specialized for herp cages! LOL I'm guessing the appeal is the built-in thermostat? You can buy a thermostat to plug into any heating device...not too expensive from Home Depot or whatnot.

But like Raj says...only way to know is to try it out. And I'll second his thought: Don't try it with the enclosure that your snake currently lives in. Use an empty one and watch it for awhile.

[rex322]

well i dont know how much they are, my mom said they arent to expensive, but i wouls only try it if they cost a fair price

[steelsack]

I have a spare heating mat from a waterbed. I was going to use it in a huge setup, but during tryout, I ran into problems.
For one thing, when I set the temp for ninety, I stood on it to see how hot it got.......it got super hot for about 3 minutes and turned itself off. They are designed to heat a whole bladder of water to a certain temp, and to do that they turn on emmiting mega heat to heat up the whole bladder. It doesn't stay on at a set temp. So when I tried it without the bladder, it would realize temp was not right, come on hardcore for a couple minutes, realize it was too hot, and shut off until the mat cooled below ninety and start all over again.
Of course most of them read right on the mat "do not use unless under FULL water matress", but I had to try out what could have been a kickass heat pad. Too bad it didn't just radiate 90 degrees 24/7 instead of turning itself off and on all the time, but apparently that's how they work. I wound up getting a heating pad and not risking burning my bp or possible the house.
So, put it on the floor, set the temp and plug it in. Then either stand on it in your socks, or press your arms and hands against it all over searching for hot spots. Yours may be different than the ones I've seen, but if it's going into a larger cage you could maybe use it under your big water source to keep it at desired temps if you find places that get hot enough to roast your snake.