What do you use under your Roach bins....

[Freeie]

To keep them warm enough. I went out to look for stuff for my new colony who will be here today i have the tote all ready for them. I'm using a 29gal i had here at the house i added the screen to it already. Only thing i could find that was safe to use is the mini UTH. I have it stuck to the bottom of the tub its warm to the touch is that enough heat? I couldnt find a human heating pad that didnt have the "auto shut off". What do all you guys use? And where do you find them? For now ill stick them in one of the beardies vivs im sure they wont mind sharing for a few hours intill i can get more heat to the bin.

 

[Gail]

I have a UTH, one of the bigs ones and its stuck to the side of the tub. I went with a cheap brand (4 paws) because they don't get as hot as the zoomed brand.

 

[BayAreaReptiles]

I use these heat pads, they don't have the automatic shut off. I usually order two at a time from Amazon for the free shipping. They were the cheapest I could find, all the ones at walmart and target are like $20 and all have the automatic shutoff.

Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006IV4N/ref=oss_product

 

[sivuh5]

I'm using a human heating pad as well - it's an older one an it doesn't have auto shut-off, not sure where it came from. But I'm a little concerned about leaving it on 24/7... seems like it might be a fire hazard - I mean these things aren't designed for that kind of use. I do have it plugged into a power strip so at least if it overheats (in the cord) the strip will short it out before it gets to the outlet.

I'm thinking about alternatives though... I though you could only use the UTH on glass, not on a Sterlite tub?

I have the tub in a small closet, so maybe an infrared bulb in the closet fixture would better? But would it throw enough heat?

Hmmmm....

 

[sivuh5]

BTW, I was looking at that heating pad link to Amazon and one of the reviewers said hers spontaneously ignited and caught fire!! This does not make me feel better.... maybe a CHE???

 

[Gail]

I'm thinking about alternatives though... I though you could only use the UTH on glass, not on a Sterlite tub?

Some get really, really hot. The zoomed UTH I have for my snakes easily gets over 150* and I'd never use it on a plastic tub. The 4 paws one doesn't get near that hot, I also put it on the side of the tub so excess heat doesn't build up.

I've used low watt red/blue bulbs before but it really lowers the humidity and caused molting issues for the roaches.

 

[ColasisKeeper]

well we use a exo-terra heat pad because when we first got Colasis the stupid pet store said we needed it , but me I dont throw nothing away, so when we got our roaches I pulled it out and started to use it.

 

[Metalz]

I use a gradening heating pad ,it's mad to run 24/7 but puts out a lot of heat so I added a dimmer I got from lowes that I was useing on the lights for the bd's .the pad I got from a gradening store a few years back . With the dimmer it keeps the bins right at 91 . I tryed tthe human heating pad with the auto shut ,that's to much of a pain . alwAys truning it back on . No Thanks on that .
I know acehardware sold them at one time

 

[glenCOCO]

I use a Zoomed UTH that had from an old snake cage for my roach bin. It's been on 24/7 for a couple months with no problems.

 

[reptilianboy831]

im using 2 human heating pads, have one on high and one on low, so theres some heat difference. Ive had em on 24/7 and theyve worked fine. I got them from walgreens, it was like model 35 or someting, bouht them over a year ago, so i cant really remeber though haha.

 

[sivuh5]

Well, I did some experimenting, and came to the conclusion that the human heating pad is by far the best method.

I tried an infrared bulb on top of the tub, tried under tank heaters that were low wattage and supposedly safe for plastic, and also tried a combination of these things. The bulb lowered humidity to an extreme low (not even registering on the hydrometer) and even when I added a container of water in addition to two dishes of water gel I only got to 25%.

The UTH were just too small for my 22 gallon tub and even using two I could get above 80 degrees.

So, I went out and got a new human heating pad (no auto shut off) for $15, found it at Rite-Aid. It's got a three year warranty, so hopefully it won't be shorting out or starting a fire.

About 10 minutes after I put the pad under the tub and took down the lamp and the rest of the paraphenalia I got to 93 degrees. Yay!

So the only thing I think I didn't try is heat tape, which is too complicated for my preference.

So, for all those who are wondering, I officially recommend the cheapo heating pad!

Sue

 

[AaronPauling]

Well I currently heat the rooms the roaches are in, but if you dont have a few hundred roach bins that isnt practical. The UTH's work ok and my fav alternitive to the UTH's at the pet stores are pro uth.... ie flexwatt. Flexwatt is the brand name(i think) heat tape. Many snake keepers use it for heating entire shelves and racks on one thermostat. Beanfarm carries it, as do other reptile supply companies. It is cheaper then the store bought heat pads but there is some assembly required :mrgreen:

 

[suzuki4life]

I use a heated room and 3" flexwatt....ambient 82, flexwatt 92

 

[Twobeardieguy]

I just use a human heating pad with no auto shut off.

 

[jewelmick]

I just got my Dubia colony started yesterday. My concern is the temp. I have a heating pad i got at walgreens.....cheap with not auto shutoff. The room the bins in is kinda cold. The temp measures 95 with the gun....is that warm enough? I think the ambient temp is less...they seem to be mostly hanging out on the floor, and are eating ok.