having problems with hearing pad

[Amelia_Ami]

I have a new baby leopard gecko, my first ever... And so far everything seems to be going really good. She or he eats like a piggy, the poop is looking pretty good, very active at night like he or she is supposed to be...

I have my leopard gecko in a 29 gallon Viv... I have 3 Hideaway Huts, one on the warm side one on the cool side and one in the middle that has the moisture and the humidity for when he or she sheds... I have a small water dish a food dish in a calcium dish... So so far everything is going great except the heating.

I have a zilla heating pad under the viv. It's plugged into a zilla thermostat.

It works fine when the heating pad stays stuck. But after a few hours it starts to peel away from the village and falls off. I looked online at reviews for this particular heating pad and while it gets good reviews in general... The biggest complaint is that it will not stay stuck.

I was curious if it would be safe to use duct tape around the edges or maybe some kind of electrical tape around the edges to keep it stuck on. Because when the heating pad is stuck to the bottom of the Viv, it works fine. It stops working when it starts to peel away

 

[Amelia_Ami]

Or I was wondering if I could use something like a wax paper sheet, ot tinfoil... Tape that up so that the heating pad not only doesn't fall, but it radiates the heat up words better, and I'm not typing directly onto the heating pad...?

 

[Amelia_Ami]

Okay this is what I decided to do... If anybody thinks this is wrong please 100% let me know ASAP. I'm learning as I go here, because I didn't expect to run into technical issues with this heating pad.

The one thing I know is that tin foil can be used in an oven with heat in excess of 400 Degrees... The heating pad is set to 87 degrees...

So I figure tin foil should be safe to use with the heating pad. So instead of actually taping the heating pad itself, I put tin foil up around the heating pad as tight as it will go.

My Hope Is that... the heating pad will be safe because I taped the tin foil and not the pad... The tin foil will help keep the heating pad pressed up against the bottom of the viv... And it will actually work to help radiate the heat upwards so that none of the heat escapes downwards.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Okay this is what I decided to do... If anybody thinks this is wrong please 100% let me know ASAP. I'm learning as I go here, because I didn't expect to run into technical issues with this heating pad.

The one thing I know is that tin foil can be used in an oven with heat in excess of 400 Degrees... The heating pad is set to 87 degrees...

So I figure tin foil should be safe to use with the heating pad. So instead of actually taping the heating pad itself, I put tin foil up around the heating pad as tight as it will go.

My Hope Is that... the heating pad will be safe because I taped the tin foil and not the pad... The tin foil will help keep the heating pad pressed up against the bottom of the viv... And it will actually work to help radiate the heat upwards so that none of the heat escapes downwards.

Welcome aboard!

If this is a new Zilla heating pad, I'd return it. These UTH pads are not designed to be restuck.

You mention you have a 29 gallon. Is it 13 inches wide x 30 inches long? If so I'd get a Flukers or Ultratherm 11 x 17 inch UTH instead. Stick it underneath the tank with aluminum tape. Flukers and Ultratherm UTHs can be restuck. GU leo keepers have been using this size UTH for a while now. It really works best.

Set the Zilla thermostat to 90 F. Thermostats vary a few degrees +/- before turning off or on. The ideal range for a leo is 88-92 as measured by a digital thermometer with a probe right underneath the warm dry hide. Cool end temps should range from 68-75 F.

Make sure your moist hide is also sitting on top of the UTH!

 

[Amelia_Ami]

Unfortunately, zilla is the only one my local store carries. They'd have to order the other brands. So far the tin foil is holding... Other owners said it it comes unstuck it's not the same as trying to restick it after peeling it off, which can damage it.

I'm going to try to order a flukers one on Amazon, but this is the best I can do because that'll take a few days. They're also sold out of ceramic heat lamps for now. So I can't even use that as a back up plan.

When the flukers comes in... Someone said I should use fiberboard as a base to keep it in place since my viv is on a fish tank stand which has an open top (meaning the tank doesn't rest directly on top of a flat surface.) Is that a good idea or does flukers hold better? And can it be used with my zilla thermostat

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Unfortunately, zilla is the only one my local store carries. They'd have to order the other brands. So far the tin foil is holding... Other owners said it it comes unstuck it's not the same as trying to restick it after peeling it off, which can damage it.

I'm going to try to order a flukers one on Amazon, but this is the best I can do because that'll take a few days. They're also sold out of ceramic heat lamps for now. So I can't even use that as a back up plan.

When the flukers comes in... Someone said I should use fiberboard as a base to keep it in place since my viv is on a fish tank stand which has an open top (meaning the tank doesn't rest directly on top of a flat surface.) Is that a good idea or does flukers hold better? And can it be used with my zilla thermostat

What ground temps are you getting with your tin foil arrangement? The Flukers UTH should be compatible with your Zilla thermostat.

What substrate are you using?

There's no need to use fiberboard or anything else to keep the Flukers UTH in place.

Just use aluminum tape "rolls" to stick the Flukers' UTH underneath your tank and flat tape around the edges. The aluminum tape should hold well! It's excellent if your fish stand has an "open" top and just supports the tank around the edges. That provides the necessary ventilation.

 

[Amelia_Ami]

My subsrate is newspaper with paper towel on the warm side in a puffy pile. At least till she's older. Thermometer says 87 on the ground (over the substrate. Didn't stick it under. So about 87/88 is what he's feeling. The other side is 75. Humidity is up a bit but I think I need to remove the water dish for a smaller one. Someone said a liter pop bottle top is more than enough?

So should I get a low heat day and night light them too?

 

[Amelia_Ami]

I just realized I titled this "problem with hearing pad" lolol

Update: the tinfoil is working great... The hidey hole warm side is 90 degrees... Cool side is 75.

Baby is mad as me though. When I was cleaning, he thought I had food. I think he knows I'm the bearer of yummies... When I came with a thermometer and no crickets... He was upset lol but it means he's getting use to me. May be ready to start handling soon. I'll waiting for the 2wk mark. Just introducing myself slowly before handling. That's what I did with my iguana and it worked wonderfully taming her. (Maybe too well. She was a mush)

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

My subsrate is newspaper with paper towel on the warm side in a puffy pile. At least till she's older. Thermometer says 87 on the ground (over the substrate. Didn't stick it under. So about 87/88 is what he's feeling. The other side is 75. Humidity is up a bit but I think I need to remove the water dish for a smaller one. Someone said a liter pop bottle top is more than enough?

So should I get a low heat day and night light them too?

I just realized I titled this "problem with hearing pad" lolol

Update: the tinfoil is working great... The hidey hole warm side is 90 degrees... Cool side is 75.

Baby is mad as me though. When I was cleaning, he thought I had food. I think he knows I'm the bearer of yummies... When I came with a thermometer and no crickets... He was upset lol but it means he's getting use to me. May be ready to start handling soon. I'll waiting for the 2wk mark. Just introducing myself slowly before handling. That's what I did with my iguana and it worked wonderfully taming her. (Maybe too well. She was a mush)

What size is your current mat? The warmth they put out is pretty spot specific. A large mat lets you place the warm dry hide as well as the humid hide on top of it. That's important because the warmth helps generate the humidity necessary to keep your leo hydrated. What you want is a warm leo in a warm humid hide.

Were you able to order an 11 x 17 inch UTH from Amazon? Is it arriving soon? Let's wait till that comes in to see how it does, before getting an overhead CHE. The larger UTH may be good on it's own.

What type thermometer have you? Be sure to record the temp where your leo sleeps. I use a 3 inch diameter water dish that's about 1.5 inches deep.

Many leo keepers like and use textured ceramic tiles, ones about 3/8 inch thick. They have ridges on the back. A light layer of sand fills in the ridges and prevents hot spots. These tiles conduct heat well, are attractive, and are easy to clean. It's easy for leos to hunt their bugs on these tiles.