Just give it a nice week to air out. If you have a garage, just put it in the garage and leave the door open for about 5-7 days and let it air out nice and good. Make sure its dry as can be and theres no smell. Also, after you add the flexwatt, let it run a day without any snakes in it, and see if the flexwatt makes it smell or does anything negative to it. You don't want to take a chance when it comes to your snake.