So, last night (aka earlier this morning at 2:30am) when I went to bed, I checked on Quetzal and his temps were perfect and spot on. This morning when I woke up for school, his temps were down to 72 on the hot spot and 69 on the cold side. EEK! I had to run to class (no choice to skip, missed attendance = reduced grade), but luckily I have a heat lamp that I got with the tank and just never used and tried that in the mean time. There was a cold snap this morning but he's lasted all winter without a problem.

I also cranked up the thermostat and the UTH rose a whole .2F in the two hours I was there. I can't tell if my thermostat or my UTH is the one that's busted, currently have the UTH plugged in without the thermostat to test it and Quetzal is in my shirt keeping warm in the meantime. Heat lamp has his hot spot at 75 now, not nearly high enough but it's getting there.

So, question. If it's my UTH that'll be the second one that's failed on me. Third, actually, as I bought a spare when I got this one just in case and that's still cold after an hour of me testing it. I can just buy another one no problem, there's a PetSmart down the street or I could run all the way to That Pet Place and easily get one. Can I use a human heating pad so that Quetzal won't freeze his tail off while I'm out (WAY too cold to take him on the bus with me... it's about 50F outside)? If it's my thermostat, what's a good substitute until I can order another with overnight shipping?