Heat mats (Questions)

[HermieGuy]

Hi! I bought a ZooMed heat mat last week. I personally found it to be too small for my 10 gallon tank and continued using my heat lamp. I had other things I had to pay for and I did not have the money to pay for a larger ZooMed heat mat, so I went out to a store I live near (Ollie's: Good Stuff Cheap. I personally trust the store) and found a large heating pad there for a much cheaper price.

This one has an auto turn-off setting that I cannot turn off. I found an old plug timer (one for turning things on and off automatically at set times) and I plugged the heating pad in and tested it while it was covering the entire back side of my tank, set on the Medium setting.

The Medium setting was not heating my tank enough. It averaged at 78, and I prefer at LEAST 80 degrees. It DOES keep the humidity up very well, unlike my heat lamp, and I'm glad it does.

I turned the setting up to the High setting, and the temperature of my tank went up and stayed at 84 degrees. I'm okay with that.

Now onto the plug timer. I have it set (after two hours of being on) to automatically turn off the heating pad, wait a few minutes for the heating pad to cool down, then turn it back on for two more hours, and continue this way in a cycle. I am hoping this will prevent the heating pad from possibly overheating and/or damaging my tank.

Before I switch to this heating method for good, I want to know if this is safe for my hermit crabs. I do know about the bad things that can happen while using a heating pad not meant for use with tanks, but as it is larger and much cheaper than any of the tank-safe brands I've found online and in-store, I want to give it a try.

[curlysister]

What type of heat mat is it? Like what is it's intended use?

[JoeHermits]

That sounds like a heating pad made for people. Be careful since those aren’t regulated for even temperatures and can overheat the tank or become a fire hazard with constant use (hence the auto-shutoff)


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[HermieGuy]

JoeHermits, you are right. I can bump up how long it stays off before turning back on if needed. I forgot to add in nighttime hours before I went off to bed last night, and the heating pad stayed off for some hours. My tank actually stayed at around 78 degrees. (My reader was at that temperature when I woke up and checked this morning.)

curlysister, NO, the heating pad is not intended for use with a tank. It's more of a kind you'd put on a bed. I know it's dangerous, but if it'll work without causing issues, then this is the best budget heating method I've got right now. I have been and will continue checking on the heating pad multiple times a day to make sure it's not becoming a hazard.

I think I'll keep the heating pad on its Medium setting now, just in case. I only had it on High because it was taking a long while to warm up and heat my tank.