Undertank Heat Mats - Air Gap? Styrofoam?

[Bogertophis]

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What do people think about something like this silicone heat mat? The raised texture could help hold the UTH against the bottom while still leaving air channels if you trimmed off the outer lip, and it doubles as a protective surface for your table (and this is just the first one I grabbed, there are plenty other textures/size/etc): https://smile.amazon.com/ZLR-Silicon...353311&sr=8-43

Looks interesting, but...how hot does it get to dry dishes? And how well does it work when regulated by thermostat? I'd honestly be worried about the potential for a t-stat failure that would quickly "cook" my snakes. I'm a Flexwatt user, which is pretty low wattage, even at "full blast". I'm all for "thinking outside the boxes" though, so I appreciate you asking about this product- I wasn't aware there was such a thing. And these are just my thoughts without more information, so?

BTW, about using ceramic tiles under your tanks, they also help to hold the heat for a while in a power outage, the way rocks do in the sun. Just make sure to measure the gap under the tank, as plenty of tiles will fit whatever space you have, so the tank "edge" doesn't sit on the tiles.

Yes, I'd say you're still in 'quake country there ...weather-stripping recommended, lol.

It was funny how I came up with that: we had a 5 pt. shaker when I was setting up a new (empty) tank on a wood cabinet- & that heavy glass tank slid about 8"- not off the cabinet but asking for trouble. I decided to try that thick (hi-density foam) weather stripping on the bottom edges & liked how the weight of the tank pushed down on the modified edges to put the brakes on any sliding. So I did all my tanks, & within a few months, we had the Landers Quake- I lived rather close to the epicenter at that time, & none of my tanks moved an inch. I've used weather-stripping ever since. Even in areas that are not "known" for earthquakes, there are more occurring these days due to fracking. Something to think about, eh?