Quote Originally Posted by rockrgrrl View Post
Will my snakes be OK without a direct heat source for a few days? The ambient room temp is currently 71 degrees.
Yes they will be fine so long your ambient temp is adequate, for that you will need a heater in your room allowing you to maintain temps of about 80 degrees.

As for the heat tape issue it could be due to a tear in the tape which can occur if your heat is not recessed, it could also have happen if the connection came lose, and it could also have also occur because a a t-stat failure.