Be careful with aquatic reptiles and heaters!!!

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L

Lepisosteus platyrhincus

Polypterus
MFK Member
Nov 9, 2008
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In the caiman den
I reached into Claudia"s warm pond to check her out and got a SIGNIFICANT shock. Was able to pull out the heater and this is what i found. After searching the bottom for awhile I found this the rest. Im not sure whether or not I will add another in there because of the risk, plus I have put so mush insulation around the entire enclosure that I begin to sweat just stepping into the enclosure. It is 76 or so.
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So in summary, BE CAREFUL. This was a nasty shock and has my arm in pain and feeling nausea. How the heck she did take a fatal shock I dont know.
 
i use these in with my fish since my last jurense got burned real bad. they made of a plastic instead of glass. so you cant break them
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/9240/product.web
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do your glass heaters keep on breaking due to aggressive fish? Try Aqueon's new Pro Heaters! Durable polymer exterior with aluminum core is shatterproof. No glass components. Will withstand any abuse your fish can dish out. Electronic thermostat for accurate temperature control to +/- 1 degree F. Auto shut-off when run dry. Restarts automatically when submerged. Fully submersible. Includes suction cups and 6 ft cord. Indicator light turns red for heating and green for when the temp is set.
 
Well I would recommend a Stealth Heater as long as they've got all the bugs out of them now. I know they were all recalled a few months ago. I've used them for years and I've never really had any issues from them.
 
Its for these and others that I slowly going more and more for temperate climate reptiles and things that dont require electric power such as outdoor enclosures. I have yet to get me a greenhouse.
 
I ended up giving up on heaters with my RES turtle after being shocked 3 times. He breaks them all (including plastic ones). I went to heat bulbs and have never looked back.
 
Owch... geez, that's not good. Kinda glad I don't have any aquatic reptiles yet AND have seen this. Would hate to encounter something similar myself. I have enough issues with my heaters in just regular fish tanks... blah.
 
I think it's kind of the owners fault in general if an animal breaks a heater. I mean it's not something they normally would encounter in the wild and animals can be curious when something is in their terriorty. So with that being said it's up to the owner to protect the heater when you are dealing with larger animals that can damage things. I've had pretty good luck keeping heaters from being broken from turtles by hiding them. I take 2 paver bricks and place them on the bottom of the tank side by side about an inch apart. Then you just place the heater in between the bricks and place a flat rock on top. Out of sight, out of mind. In your case Mark, you might want to wrap the cord with something that can insulate it and protect it from a caiman bite.
 
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