Whats your preferred heat mat brand?

[turoconnor]

Hi! Sooo I'm upgrading the crabbies to a 40 gallon.... I am a lucky duck and know someone who is getting rid of one for free! But now I need a bigger heat mat. Potentially more than one?

So Please let me know, What brands of heat mats do you like and Why?

[wodesorel]

One Ultratherm is probably your best bet as they come in a 35x6 and a 35x11 size, depending on how cold your home gets. They produce the most heat and can be insulated for a boost which you'll likely need since the tank is so wide front to back.

I use Flukers as they have the same design and can also be insulated, but their size range is a lot more limited so you'd likely need two for a three foot long tank.

[crabocado]

I have two Zoo Med Repti Therm undertank heaters, and they are terrible. They generate heat just fine and don't burn down the house, however, they hardly stick at all. You have to prop them against the glass with heavy objects, which sort of works for the small one (roughly 4"x6") but really doesn't work for the larger one (roughly 6"x8"). I had this conversation elsewhere on this forum but I forgot the answer: What brand is actually sticky and won't peel off the tank on its own?

[curlysister]

Don't get the sticky ones. Spend the money on a good one that you attach yourself with Gorilla tape (or similar). They give off more heat, you can move them if you need to, and you can insulate over top of them!

[crabocado]

Don't get the sticky ones. Spend the money on a good one that you attach yourself with Gorilla tape (or similar). They give off more heat, you can move them if you need to, and you can insulate over top of them!

Thanks. Could you give me an example of a brand that fits that description -- the good ones that you attach yourself?

One fix I've considered for the Zoo Med heaters is to glue a steel bar along each of the four edges, or somehow make a rigid steel frame. Because I feel like the main flaw is not so much that they don't stick, but rather that they have no rigidity. As a portion of the edge loses its stickiness (or gives way to some small force being applied, e.g. the weight of the power cord), the flexibility of the plastic allows it to warp and bend, so you end up with about half the heater attached, half of it hanging loose. If the edges were rigid, I think the whole thing would probably stay attached. I could probably do this fix if I had a week off to live in the hardware store, but obviously I haven't had that opportunity.

I was not aware that Gorilla tape is a thing. If it is strong enough to attach a heater that has no stickiness of its own, then I wonder what that means about these higher-quality heaters you are suggesting. Either their edges must be rigid as i described above, or, maybe Gorilla tape is just a whole lot stickier than those Zoo Med heaters. In that case, maybe Gorilla tape is sufficient to keep my Zoo Meds attached?

[curlysister]

Ultratherm and the UTH sold by Bean Farm are both great. You can insulate over top of them, unlike the Zoo Med. They also put out way more heat.
The Gorilla Tape could be used to reinforce the Zoo Med ones, but they honestly don't put out a lot of heat, and you can't insulate over top of them.

[wodesorel]

I have both the ultratherms and flukers attached with packing tape. Sticks great, safe to remove and reposition as needed.

[Schuman1]

Would flexwatt work in these situations better than a pre made heat mat? That's been the standard in snake cages for years. You need to control it with a thermostat generally, but you can get various widths and it to any length you desire.
Edit-just seen this is what the ultratherm uth is basically its just premade.