Heating pad unstuck

[Malum Argenteum]

That product from reptile-basics is not "Flex-watt" brand but is made similar- I cannot speak for that which I've never tried. I think you can get the brand Flex-watt from "The Bean Farm" (online), if you wish. But do be advised (at least in my experience- & mine is all old "original" Flex-watt) that Flex-watt doesn't get quite as hot as some other UTH -like the one you had that tried a meltdown.

I've used both, and I slightly prefer Flexwatt, both the connectors and the feel of the tape.

As for which gets hotter, it varies according to the width. For example, the 3" tape from FW is available in either 6w per foot or 10w per foot; 3" from THG is 4w per foot. But the 6" FW is 9w per foot and THG is 12w per foot.

The 12" THG in the link above is 23w per foot; the equivalent FW (11") is 20w per foot. A ZooMed 8 x 12 is 16w, which figures out to 24w per foot of 12" heat tape. So yes, FW would not get as hot (and if it doesn't get hot enough, it isn't being used correctly).

Using a Herpstat enables setting a maximum output limit on the tape, so for example you could run 10w per foot tape at a maximum of 5w per foot simply by limiting the output to 50% (or similarly for any heat pad). Using a thermostat with safety features (max setting, over and under temp alarms) is a really good idea, and worth the investment ten times over.