# Major Heat Mat Warning!!!!



## thalie_knights (Jan 19, 2007)

heya guys,

Whilst taking down my two exo terra faunarium vivs to feed my black milks,i noticed, TO MY ABSOLUTEL HORROR that both vivs had holes the size of my fist in the base of them.As i went to touch the heat mat,it was absolutely piping hot, and had subsequently melted the base of the vivs. I spent the evening in shock,checking over my precious milks, and being so grateful neither were burnt, or that the house hadnt caught fire. The heat mat was by Euro-zoo, we bought a load of them at the Hamm show in March. Im not saying the company are faulty,it was likely it was a faulty fluke heat mat (which up to present because of the warm weather i hadnt needed to use). Please please check your heat mats, i wouldnt want anyone to go through the shock i did.

Thalie


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## skimpy (Nov 22, 2006)

thalie_knights said:


> heya guys,
> 
> Whilst taking down my two exo terra faunarium vivs to feed my black milks,i noticed, TO MY ABSOLUTEL HORROR that both vivs had holes the size of my fist in the base of them.As i went to touch the heat mat,it was absolutely piping hot, and had subsequently melted the base of the vivs. I spent the evening in shock,checking over my precious milks, and being so grateful neither were burnt, or that the house hadnt caught fire. The heat mat was by Euro-zoo, we bought a load of them at the Hamm show in March. Im not saying the company are faulty,it was likely it was a faulty fluke heat mat (which up to present because of the warm weather i hadnt needed to use). Please please check your heat mats, i wouldnt want anyone to go through the shock i did.
> 
> Thalie


 
Did you not attach it to a mat stat??


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## thalie_knights (Jan 19, 2007)

no wasnt necessary as only 14watts and coz the milks like it cool it only touched about 3inches of the viv...:-(


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## skimpy (Nov 22, 2006)

thalie_knights said:


> no wasnt necessary as only 14watts and coz the milks like it cool it only touched about 3inches of the viv...:-(


 
I have seen sh*t happen with heatmats before, as have many ppl on the forum, who attach all mats to stats to stop problems like you have experienced. Sorry you found out the hard way


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## CaseyM (Nov 8, 2006)

All heatmats should have a stat attached regardless of the wattage.

Lucky you caught it before it turned really nasty.


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## weelad (Jul 25, 2006)

> no wasnt necessary


lol clearly was :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## cornmorphs (Jan 28, 2005)

seen this a lot in the past..
unless you have real old tired heat mats you have to use a stat really.
i have some that are almostdead and dont use a stat, but they are literally chuckin no heat and are about 6 inches from the tubs they are heating


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

thalie_knights said:


> no wasnt necessary as only 14watts and coz the milks like it cool it only touched about 3inches of the viv...:-(


And this is a definite case that shows exactly WHY thermostats are absolutely required no matter what wattage the heat mat is.

An unregulated heat source is exactly that - not regulated - and will get as hot as it is going to get.


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## eeji (Feb 22, 2006)

One day everyone will learn that stats are NOT an optional extra, and hopefully not the hard way like this.
Not everyone will be this lucky...


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## peaches (Apr 3, 2007)

Thankyou for putting this up, I think it does take a thread like this sometimes to make people,stop think and check. Shocking really as to how hot mats can get un-statted.


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## garysumpter (Apr 18, 2005)

If you have a mat under a vivarium or similar, with no airflow, it will get very hot indeed.

As mentionned, a stat is NEEDED.


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## slashvenom (Sep 1, 2006)

Interestingly enough I've still not come across a "starter kit" with a stat in! (Regardless of the fact that rep keepers have been saying for years that stats are an essential item!) Its particularly stupid as these kits are specifically aimed at those who may not know any better and are prone to believe a label saying "contains EVERYTHING you need to keep your first snake/lizard etc". This could lead to people boiling their reps simply because beginners who don't know any better aren't realising that the stat is a necessary piece of kit and not a optional extra.

This is WRONG and should be changed.

Rant over.

Please feel free to correct me if you've come across a commercial "starter kit" which does include a stat. :smile:


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## eeji (Feb 22, 2006)

slashvenom said:


> Interestingly enough I've still not come across a "starter kit" with a stat in! (Regardless of the fact that rep keepers have been saying for years that stats are an essential item!) Its particularly stupid as these kits are specifically aimed at those who may not know any better and are prone to believe a label saying "contains EVERYTHING you need to keep your first snake/lizard etc". This could lead to people boiling their reps simply because beginners who don't know any better aren't realising that the stat is a necessary piece of kit and not a optional extra.
> 
> This is WRONG and should be changed.
> 
> ...


no never seen one. I got into a MASSIVE argument a while back with someone on here selling 'starter kits' without stats on RFUK's classifieds. Their only argument was 'it doesn't need one because its only 14W'.....
I rest my case!


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## Piraya1 (Feb 26, 2007)

Where do we get these stats? I have not seen these in my local shops...


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## SiUK (Feb 15, 2007)

I never use stats for the tarantulas tanks and I know alot of people dont and never have


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## eeji (Feb 22, 2006)

Piraya1 said:


> Where do we get these stats? I have not seen these in my local shops...


your local shops can't be that good then..... Theres usually loads on eBay, quite cheap too, so there really is no excuse for not having one.


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## rachy (Nov 18, 2006)

petzoo do a starter kit with a thermostat


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## PendleHog (Dec 21, 2005)

Good on petzoo!! This thread reads as yet another warning on the danger of unregulated heat sources


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## mints (Feb 19, 2007)

well at leat u now know to use a stat next time, even though 14 watts sounds nothing, it will still heat up and get hotter and hotter.


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## skimpy (Nov 22, 2006)

Also, I know that mats can get dangerously hot when weight is applied to them, e.g. an adult royal python. to combat this, i attached mine to the wall of the viv. she still gets heat from it, but she cant fall asleep on it and cook herself slowly. Even with it being attached to the wall (polystyrene on the floor for extra insulation), i still have a stat too.


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## tombraider (May 6, 2006)

we had a viv catch fire a few months back at 4am in the morning due to a mat not being on a stat. luckily i was up with the little un and caught it in time.


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## skimpy (Nov 22, 2006)

tombraider said:


> we had a viv catch fire a few months back at 4am in the morning due to a mat not being on a stat. luckily i was up with the little un and caught it in time.


Hey tombraider, long time no speak!! That was more th>n lucky!one of my mats melted the veneer on the viv when it wasn't on a stat...kinda yellowy gluey stuff all over the underside when i was cleaning it out one day.Foolish not to have a statIs your wee one still a midnight wanderer?!


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## tombraider (May 6, 2006)

skimpy said:


> Hey tombraider, long time no speak!! That was more th>n lucky!one of my mats melted the veneer on the viv when it wasn't on a stat...kinda yellowy gluey stuff all over the underside when i was cleaning it out one day.Foolish not to have a statIs your wee one still a midnight wanderer?!


Hes settled down now thanks lol but im pretty glad he kept me awake that night. I had been smelling a weird vinegary smell coming from chelles room all day but put it down to her spilling something and just not cleaning it up right.


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## skimpy (Nov 22, 2006)

tombraider said:


> Hes settled down now thanks lol but im pretty glad he kept me awake that night. I had been smelling a weird vinegary smell coming from chelles room all day but put it down to her spilling something and just not cleaning it up right.


 
No way! it's mad really that they are not fitted with stats. IMO, ppl dont always buy stats because they are relatively expensive, for what they are, and the parts they actually consist of. Dare I say overpriced??


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## tombraider (May 6, 2006)

All our other mats are on stats but this one was in with chelles bosc and because it was under loads of soil and wood chip substrate she didnt bother with one. I think it either over heated with there being no air flow or some of the wood chippings in the substrate pierced it. She was very lucky the bosc was ok because the room was just a thick cloud of smoke and all the lower layers of wood chipping where smouldering red and crackling with sparks.


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