Can I put an UNREGULATED heat pad inside my wooden enclosure?

[MikeV]

Hey guys

well I am building a new enclosure for my sav and was wondering if I could put a 50 - 60 gallon UTH inside his new wooden enclosure?

I need it to raise the basking spot to 120 - 140F

But im not sure its safe to put it in a wooden terrarium unregulated.

I currently have a small one inside his glass tank that is unregulated and so far I havent had any problems.

I would ofcourse be putting flagstone on top of it so the lizard cant come in contact with it.


I just want to know if im going to start a fire

Keep in mind im using plywood... so im not sure if it will burn at 120F

I do know that plenty of people build wooden enclosures for thier lizards and need to obtain a basking spot of 120 - 140 and they never have any fire problems.

What do you guys think?

Is this sfae to do?

[ptate]

i wouldn't recommend running any heat source unregulated. Some people do it and never have anything bad happen. Some people do it and burn their house down. The real question is: Is it worth the risk to YOU!

[Alexandra V]

I'm not sure if it would burn plywood but my father, who is rather handy, says that he thinks it would be fine. It's not even boiling point for water at that temperature, so I don't see why it would be a problem. However, I would run it on a regulator because if something goes wrong like the heat pad goes haywire, most thermostats will shut it off automatically. It's better to have no basking spot for a while than to have a fire, in my opinion.

In the end it's up to you, because there are no guarantees that the heater will or will not malfunction, so it's your call on that one.

[Sarin]

I wouldn't at all.. My little 10 gallon Zoo-Med heat pad went over 140 degrees in less then 2 hours before I unplugged it. I'd rather invest in a decent thermostat than risk burning your house down or at the very least injuring your animal.

[MikeV]

thanks for all the opinions!

I am gonna think on it and maybe ill just run the heat lamps until i get a thermostat

Thanks!

[smd58]

i wouldn't recommend running any heat source unregulated. Some people do it and never have anything bad happen. Some people do it and burn their house down. The real question is: Is it worth the risk to YOU!

I agree, Not worth the risk.