Question on proper tub set up

[JRLongton]

So, the next local reptile expo is this Sunday. Several months ago, I paid for an AP T8 with divider and was assured that it would arrive in time. It hasn't. I've tried buying used, but all prospects fell through. I would really love to get a hatchling or two come Sunday, but without an enclosure I'm going to end up going to the expo just to tease myself.

In my desperation, it occurred to me that I could go with a tub(s). Problem is that in New England my ambient temp is generally too low to allow for tubs/racks, and I haven't won the argument for a heated snake room, yet. Hence T8s.

What I could do, is get a tub and use two UTHs to heat both the warm and the cool side separately and appropriately. I have a spare Herpstat 2 so setting up the two zones isn't an issue. If this were a very temporary measure, just a few days, I would just charge ahead without asking the community's thoughts. But AP could potentially take weeks longer to get me the T8 and during that time the seasons will change. Worst case the quarantine room's ambient temp will fall to 68 F.

Just reading this post over, this plan seems ill-advised. 68 F ambient temp seems really low to me, even with belly heat. But, I'm bored at work and would still like the community's input.

So what do people think? Is this overly desperate and best scrapped, or is it actually feasible?

[Coluber42]

If you can come up with a way to insulate the tub, you can probably get it to work. Wrap the tub in foam or blankets leaving just enough uncovered to let in ventilation and a bit of light and it should be fine.
A friend of mine who's obsessed with energy saving hacks modded out his slow cooker* to use half the wattage, and puts the entire thing into a box of styrofoam packing peanuts in order to cook with it. The packing peanuts are very effective insulation, and the slow cooker reaches the same temperatures with half the power.

*note - the friend in question is an electrical engineer and knows what he's doing so that it's not a fire hazard. Don't go casually messing with your electrical appliances.