heat strips a bit rubbish?

[monkeygirl]

does anyone else find that their heat strips are a bit rubbish? i mean one side of the heat strip is warm and the other stone cold?

i dont know if thier is a better way of heating rack (cant get heat tape here in uk) as i dont know how heat cable works as wouldnt it tip the tubs?

 

[ReptileMan27]

Heat strips?, sorry not familar with them. Heat tape is commonly used here but I have been hearing bad things about it latley so wont use it. I use the repti heat cable, zoo med makes it and it works great, not sure if its availiable where you are..

 

[robin]

heating pads/mats if that is what you are referring to can go bad. i will check with some of my friends in the UK to see if they can find heat tape. as far as heat cable it works fine but seems to go out fairly quickly (rubbish)

 

[monkeygirl]

heat strips are heat mats but longer and thinner. these are new but i just find they have hot and cold spots which is a bit rubbish when yours using them to heat hatchling tubs, i.e. a cold bit might mean that 1 tub is not at the right temp

 

[robin]

i know of a place that ships worldwide and has flexwatt in all different sizes. i do not know the shipping cost and how feasible it would be for you

 

[robin]

does as i dont know how heat cable works as wouldnt it tip the tubs?

also, as far as heat cable. you have to drill grooves for it to sit into so it doesn't tip the tubs. also you need to use a proportional thermostat on it, to make sure and regulate the temps correctly (keep it from getting too hot)

 

[ReptileMan27]

I dont drill holes for my heat cable, it only tips the tub very slightly, not enough to hurt anything. The great part about heat cable is you can use it in so many ways, I love it.

 

[Leopardbreeder]

You also need a proportional thermostat with flex-watt! I used an on/off thermostat on a small strip and it went bad.

 

[robin]

well yes of course with the heat tape. the bigger the pieces the safer because of the watts per foot or something

 

[acpart]

I use repti heat cable by zoo med under my cages. I like it because I can change the configuration --run it under the left or right half of the tank for adults, run it under the back half of the cage to set up 3 hatchling sections. I use a simple alife non-proportional thermostat with it and haven't had any problems. Some of my heat cables have been in use for 2-3 years without problems. I have one cage which doesn't seem to be able to reach the right temps during the winter so I remove 1 ceramic tile between Dec. and May and use paper towel.
Aliza