For or Against Heat Mats??

[Snakeluvver2]

There's no right or wrong way to keep snakes, just find what works for you.

 

[Bel03]

Again, thank you all for the opinions. I must also just say, my comment yesterday to wokka about it not always being appropriate to be sarcastic, whether just stating the 'odds' or not, i seem to have been taken the wrong way by some people, & after receiving a pm just now about how 'outrageous' my comment was.....i wanted to clarify that i wasnt being rude, i was just saying that as we dont know each others backgrounds, sometimes what we find to be a 'valid' statement, can actually be hurtful to others......& considering the comment involved the stats with car crashes & whether or not we continue to drive......this did have an affect on me......i have not been able to drive since my 3yr old was taken from me due to a drunk driver......we are all different! Anyway, my apologies to those i offended, i did not mean to......this simply started as a curiousty question, maybe i just shouldnt ask questions here, however i thought that was aloud. Again, sorry.

 

[Colin]

Colin, what would you suggest using in a glass enclosure? i am about to set one up and cant figure out what to use, was thinking the heat cord radiator, but am not sure whether that would suit.

the only glass enclosures Ive used in the last few years were for geckos and not snakes and I used globe heating in them. I prefer not to use glass enclosure for snakes.

 

[reptileKev81]

I have a tank that i bought 2nd hand many years ago (over 7 years ago and i don't know how old it was when i bought it) and it has one of these mats on the bottom of it. I have kept all sorts of critters in the tank including scorpions and giant hermit crabs and i have never had one issue with it at all! Never used a thermostat with it either, not sure if it's the same brand or not but i was wondering where i would find another one like it so thanks for telling me the brand etc


I would like to know what to use for a melamine enclosure that will have bearded dragons in it? I was thinking i could use a flood light or MVB and have a slate tile under the globes, would this be sufficient to hold heat or what else could i use?

I got my one from Pet Barn in Moorebank. Try google to find the nearest one to you. The box is labeled "exo terra substrate heater" I think.

 

[SYNeR]

Thinking I might try a heat cord. The click-clacks I have don't have a perfectly flat bottom and are slightly bowed, which causes issues with heating the enclosure.
Hoping a cord would rectify this..

 

[Bushfire]

I've been using heat mats for years and have never had a problem. As what was said previous I think most of the problems people have with them have been due to user error.

 

[imported_Varanus]

Ditto the above,

I've recently swapped most of my snakes to the "Reptapets" brand with the built in thermostat, but have also used the green plastic coated ones available from The Herp Shop (attached to a Switching thermostat) for a few years now without any probs.

 

[africancichlidau]

I've always used the green ones with no problems. Some with and some without thermostats, some with and some without ventilation. The green one's have an internal "over heat" cutout in them and I consider them to be very safe. Whenever I have seen problems with them it has indeed been due to user error as mentioned by a number of posters above. Just my two cents worth.