Good luck with your heating pad. I went that route and had an almost $100 vet bill added on to a $200 snake, plus I had to take more time time to give it oral meds, and wipe it's belly down every with a topical med that smelled like oysters. It wasn't a real bad burn, but It's nothing I would be willing to put another snake through. I also had a ZooMed. It's in the garbage now.