Heat tape

[hermieluv1]

Has anyone used a heat tape set up instead of an Ultratherm? I was curious as to its performance, as the price seems better.

[hermitcrab101]

I've seen lots of people use it for other reptile not so much hermit crabs. Heat tape is mainly used by reptile breeders, who use several feet of it to heat a large number of cages. The reason most people just use ultratherm is because of the ease of it. Heat tape is sold usually by the foot in separate pieces usually requiring some assembly. It works the same as a heat mat would and if you rather use this then, there’s no reason stopping you really

[hermieluv1]

Thanks for your response! One thing I was able to find out in the meantime is that they require a thermostat....which therefore makes it more expensive than an Ultratherm.

[stewartx4]

I tried heat tape once and it melted the foam insulation. Perhaps it needed a thermostat:)! The ultratherms have always worked perfectly!

[Cydonia1]

If you have a big tat, heat tape would probably work out better than having to buy several uth's. With the thermostat you could adjust the temperature if you noticed it dropping during winter, which is an issue that I see when it comes to heating pads because with them you can only insulate,wrap or buy another, but with heat tape you could just use the thermostat and raise the temp some.

Plus needing a thermostat would be a good reason to get one that also reads and controls humidity, which would also give you an excuse to go out and buy a humidifier.

[hermieluv1]

Yeah, I really liked the idea of the thermostat. Maybe for the next one! I gave in and just bought the Ultratherm.