temporary heat source

[stevenw]

i will be getting flex watt heat tape in august i just cant afford it untill then. my BPs are around 70 right now and i just turned the dehumidifier on to make it alittle hotter. with that on it gets to just around 78-80 degrees. what i am asking is what is a good temporary heat source untill i get the tape in august!? thanks alot!!

~steven~

[dr del]

Hi,

For the cool side? Yes.

For the hot side? Not even close.

have a look at the caresheet for the temps we recommend.


dr del

[dr del]

Sorry,

I misread your question.

If you cannot afford heat tape then you cannot really afford any of the alternatives either most likely.

The most expensive part of the heating setup is the control for it - and all the heatsources you can get need to be controlled.

You can try and use a rheostat (dimmer switch ) in the short term if your house temps are stable enough but a good thermostat will be your biggest and best ally in keeping your pet happy and healthy.

Dimmer switches start around $9 I think for the lutron lamp dimmer at Lowes but thermostats start at around $25-$30 with the most recommended ones being $80 or $120 for proportional.

If you describe your set up we should be able to give more specific advice on what you need.


dr del

[sarahlovesmiike]

Back when I was figuring my husbandry out I was saving for a thermostat and was definitely not going to hook a UTH up to a tub unregulated, so I used the heating pad that you or I would use on a sore muscle or something. I kept it set to low and it kept them at 95* pretty consistently. But they aren't meant to be on all the time so this can potentially be dangerous. Mine were on heat pads for maybe a month with no ill effects.


This is NOT recommended but it worked for me.