Best under tank heater??

[Emcneice]

What is the best under tank heater? I have a 40 gallon tank that houses a sub adult female ball python.

[Trackstrong83]

THG heat tape without a doubt, just make sure you HAVE A THERMOSTAT. That's crucial. Not a maybe, or an ill be okay for a little while without one, you NEED a thermostat.

[Diamond Serpents]

Welcome to the forum. I'm going to assume you want a heat pad brand. All heat pads are pretty much the same I had bad luck with Exo terra caught fire even with a thermostat 5 years back. I won't recommend them but that's just from personal experience.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Welcome to the forum. I'm going to assume you want a heat pad brand. All heat pads are pretty much the same I had bad luck with Exo terra caught fire even with a thermostat 5 years back. I won't recommend them but that's just from personal experience.

While this is true for the "pet store" brands there are a few "high end" heat pad brands that make much better products:

Ultratherm: http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm-heat-pads

Kane: http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...poly-heat-mat/

[Emcneice]

THG heat tape without a doubt, just make sure you HAVE A THERMOSTAT. That's crucial. Not a maybe, or an ill be okay for a little while without one, you NEED a thermostat.

What do you think of a low watt heat tape? One that would usually be used for pipes I can't see much of a difference between that tape and the tape geared towards reptiles

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THG heat tape without a doubt, just make sure you HAVE A THERMOSTAT. That's crucial. Not a maybe, or an ill be okay for a little while without one, you NEED a thermostat.

What do you think of a low watt heat tape? One that would usually be used for pipes I can't see much of a difference between that tape and the tape geared towards reptiles

[southbay54]

I have 40gal tank with 12" flex watt tape

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Tried a few and IMO the best are Ultraterm and of course it needs to be used with a reliable thermostat.

[Surrealle]

Sorry for the bump but I figured it's better than starting a whole new thread..

http://www.reptilebasics.com/ultrath...ter-uth-11-x11

I was looking to order this, and it says you generally don't need a thermostat. I'm confused now, do I need one or not? And at what temp would my snake get burned? I'm assuming this wouldn't get hot enough during normal operation, only if it malfunctions, correct?

If I really do need a thermostat, do you have a recommendation for an inexpensive, reliable one? Also, this is probably a stupid question but why is the wattage so high on thermostats that you'd use on a low-wattage heat mat?

Thanks!

[Neal]

I honestly like the Zoo Med ones. I've used them for years on end and never ran into any problems. I've even restuck them after taking them off to change tanks.

On a side note I've looked up other ones and Ultratherm has some good reviews so I may try that next time as Zoo Med from petsmart is a rip off in price.