Tbowman yes no one told us that, not even the breeder we got him from.

PitOnTheProwl, See we never had a problem with it in the 2.5 years we had it. I pulled it off the tank immediately when I noticed his burns and the dang thing had melted in the middle. That's what they are supposed to do?
Yikes.
Thank you for your drawing. Would the thermostat probe sit between the sticky part of the pad and the tank or do you wrap them in foil tape like I've seen suggested?

He's been to the vet, gets SSD cream put on 2x a day along with a numbing spray and a shot of antibiotics every three days until his next appointment. He's doing well, the burns are healing up nicely and he should shed again in the next couple of days.



Eric, We used a substrate made for snake up until he got burnt, he's on paper towels and newspaper NOW and I might keep him that way (without a heat pad) or go back to the substrate and heat pad with a regulator.