Quote Originally Posted by Bcycling View Post
I talked with Bob, a good guy. He did say most people like putting them on the cool side set to 80. He also reconvened the jump start, which I have, but I also have a herpstat. He said use the jump start as its ul listed One other question I have is how hot do the panels themselves get. I am a bit worried about the snake touching it.
They have the ability to get very hot, but they usually don't get too much over 105F to 110F before the enclosure is up to temp and they kick off. I have these panels in 7 of my enclosures and have never had an issue with my snakes.

According to Bob, even if the thermostat fails in the "on" position, these panels are designed to never get hot enough to hurt the snake. I can't personally verify this statement, and hope that I never do, but Bob has done a boat load of research and testing and I'm inclined to believe him.

Adding flexwatt is a preference thing. Its nice to have a constant gradient when the panel is not on. Personally, I avoid heat tape like the plague. Not because it doesn't work, but because I've seen too many devastating fires within the reptile community caused by heat tape. However, if used properly, given ventilation, and replaced every couple of years, there shouldn't be a problem. The same thing can be said about under tank heating pads.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk