Heat Mat Trouble

[AlfredoBP]

Hi everyone, I am a new ball python owner of about 2 months. My BP is doing great, eating consistently and recently had a perfect shed

As I was looking over his enclosure today, I noticed my ZooMed UTH had unstuck from the bottom of the enclosure in some areas and was throwing off my temps a little bit, especially in the area where my thermostat probe is (it's between the heat mat and bottom of the enclosure). This might be a dumb question, but I was wondering if it would be safe to add a little bit of tape to the sides of the heat mat in order to prevent this from happening? If anyone has any suggestions please let me know, or let me know if I should switch to a different UTH. I'm not sure if anyone has experienced this problem before.

Just a side note that his enclosure doesn't exactly sit flush with the surface it's on. I have a bungee cord that wraps around the enclosure for some added security to the middle of the lid, since the tub only latches on the sides.

[Kerimac]

You can use foil heat tape from Lowe's or Home Depot. Just don't ever put tape inside his enclosure.

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[AlfredoBP]

Thanks! I'll be sure to order some, sounds like it'll work for me.

[Kerimac]

I actually put heat tape on my heating mat (sticky side to sticky side) and tape the probe to it as well. I use a heat gun to make sure my Temps are right and this makes cleaning a lot easier because I don't have a heat mat stuck to my setup.

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[Luvyna]

I actually put heat tape on my heating mat (sticky side to sticky side) and tape the probe to it as well. I use a heat gun to make sure my Temps are right and this makes cleaning a lot easier because I don't have a heat mat stuck to my setup.

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I do this as well! Just remember to check the tape holding the heat mat on the bottom of the tub periodically to ensure it's not coming off if you use this method. Taping the probe to the heat mat is a good way to ensure that your UTH will never overheat as the probe will always be secured to it. That way if the UTH comes off partially it won't be separated from the probe