Question on T8 with UTH...

[redshepherd]

Ok. I dug out the packaging. Mine are Ultratherm. Here is a quote from the user guide: "Heat mats do get warm, but provide a very gentle warmth which the animal can sit under or on top of. Used under normal conditions, the mats can not burn the animal."

The mfr's words, not mine, so no flames please about the absolute necessity of t-stats!

Actually, I've had my own Ultratherm get to to 100 before. My roommate decided to move Vigil's enclosure when I wasn't here one day, obviously not knowing how a thermostat works, so had pulled the probe out. When I came back, it was a little over 100. I guess even though they don't get instantly as hot as some UTH's out there, they are still capable of getting hot enough to burn the animal (in a plastic or glass setup) if not on a thermostat.

Thankfully, she must have moved it relatively recently, because Vigil's belly was not burned yet. And then I laughed at the packaging lies.

Basically, yeah. I never had to turn mine up to triple digits to get my 90 degree hot spot, but I was consistently in the mid-90s, which is essentially the max-out point of the Ultratherms. You can get THG heat tape pre-wired through Reptile Basics, so that's not an issue. You just need to let them know what size and length you'd like and they do the rest.

Wow, that's very convenient. I didn't know they did that... So would the heat tape arrive cut and set up with a plug to go into the thermostat, like a UTH? Would I just need to send them an email requesting it?