Zilla-Where Reptiles Rule

Wow...sounds like you don't have it very hot at all! I have mine directly plugged in (no therm or rheostat), but with it on the back of the tank, it just keeps the air warm. Of course during the day, I also provide her with a basking light where she spends most all of her "non-eating time" under.

Placing it underneath the tank really should have the same negative effect as attaching it at a lower heat. It's still going to heat the glass on the bottom of the tank and if water gets on it, it could easily crack.

Another option is that you don't really need to have a water dish in your beardie's tank. I'm much more experienced with snakes (which I would never recommend this for), but another member on FC pointed out that if you soak it every few days, it should get all of it's drinking in while soaking. I've been doing that for quite some time now and my beardie continues to grow and thrive.

Originally Posted by -C@jun-

Still this tank is suppose to be designed for this. Don't you have to put a little water in the bottom of tank for turtles. You have to supply some sort of heat for reptiles. Aren't they suppose to be sprayed during shed if your ambient humidity is right. This is a reptile tank. There is no reason for this trouble!

Sorry had to get back on subject

Just to quickly address this: every UTH that I've ever bought warns of the danger of cracked/broken glass when attaching it to the bottom of the tank and letting the hot glass get wet. I don't think that part can be blamed on the tank, as flimsy as the rest of it sounds in your above description.

Originally Posted by Matt2979

Wow...sounds like you don't have it very hot at all! I have mine directly plugged in (no therm or rheostat), but with it on the back of the tank, it just keeps the air warm. Of course during the day, I also provide her with a basking light where she spends most all of her "non-eating time" under.

Placing it underneath the tank really should have the same negative effect as attaching it at a lower heat. It's still going to heat the glass on the bottom of the tank and if water gets on it, it could easily crack.

Another option is that you don't really need to have a water dish in your beardie's tank. I'm much more experienced with snakes (which I would never recommend this for), but another member on FC pointed out that if you soak it every few days, it should get all of it's drinking in while soaking. I've been doing that for quite some time now and my beardie continues to grow and thrive.

There for ball pythons. The female is always hanging out around or in her waterbowl. The male drinks a lot and also likes it by his water bowl only at night. He is lazy and sleeps all day until 9-10pm.

Originally Posted by Matt2979

Just to quickly address this: every UTH that I've ever bought warns of the danger of cracked/broken glass when attaching it to the bottom of the tank and letting the hot glass get wet. I don't think that part can be blamed on the tank, as flimsy as the rest of it sounds in your above description.

I will definitely look at that next time getting food at the pet store. I mean UTH= Under Tank Heater IDK

Originally Posted by -C@jun-

There for ball pythons. The female is always hanging out around or in her waterbowl. The male drinks a lot and also likes it by his water bowl only at night. He is lazy and sleeps all day until 9-10pm.

Sorry, I got hung up on Jeff's post about keeping his bearded dragon in one since '04. PLEASE don't take your BP's water bowl out!! (I thought I was paying better attention )

Originally Posted by -C@jun-

I will definitely look at that next time getting food at the pet store. I mean UTH= Under Tank Heater IDK

I thought the same thing first time I read the warning.

Since the subject has been brought up, let me tell you my experience with Zilla and its parent company, Central Pet. As a retailer, I looked forward to a new line of reptile supplies to sell to my customers. Little did I know what a bunch of crap I was getting into. I purchased $15,000 in lights and fixtures from Zilla for my new store. We mounted them above all the reptile tanks, and above all the amphibians. I marveled at how one of my staff actually started getting sunburned as he mounted the lights to the shelving. Having expanded our amphibian section, we ordered a ton of new frogs. Within a couple days, they were all dead. I mean all of them. I tried to determine the cause, but came to the conclusion that we must have done something horribly wrong. So I ordered another ton of amphibians, and re set all the habitats until I decided they were perfect in every way. Within days all the frogs died again. By now we'd also noticed that some of the reptiles were acting a bit odd. Then we found the leopard geckos with severe burns down thir backs. I checked the heat, checked their hides, and double checked again. I sat up and wondered what could be going wrong. Then it hit me. THE LIGHTS. It was the only variable that was new. I commented to Zilla that I thought something was wrong with the lights. These same lights I'm selling to customers! I was panicked. I turned off all the UV lights and started using Zoo Med lights in my track light canisters that I was using for heat lamps. I had to revolve them around, which was a pain, but it seemed to do the job at the time. In the meantime, Zilla finally got back to me and told me that there was indeed a problem with the lights, and that they would replace them. All the leopard geckos died, as did all the amphibians, and many other animals. I put the lights on rats (mammals need UV too), and they had died. In total I lost over $50,000 in animals. Plus the cost of now useless lights and fixtures. I had to recall all the lights I'd sold to my customers. Then it took Zilla a year to re issue their lights, once they figured out how to make them stop emitting UVC, which is deadly to all life forms, including people. Needless to say, I did not buy them again, and in the long run had to sue Zilla for my loss. I only got $27,000 for the animals that I lost, and a full "credit" on the lights and fixtures, which I used to by Zoo Med lighting and other products. Zilla is sloppy, poorly run, and they don't know their ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to herps. Their products are all crap. They break, they don't work properly, and are made from the cheapest materials possible. I have more stories I can relate, perhaps later in this thread. I've typed enough for now. Stay away from Zilla and their products. There are plenty of other quality manufacturers and products out there.

Damn ken that is horrible! Thanks for sharing that.

Originally Posted by -C@jun-

Damn ken that is horrible! Thanks for sharing that.

x2

I think one of the problems is the way they package the tanks. There is no kind of bracing or supports. The tank is wrapped in a very flimsy cardboard sleeve, so I can see where damage, especially to the screen, would happen during shipping and storage, if anything were stacked on top of it...

Originally Posted by Matt2979

Sorry, I got hung up on Jeff's post about keeping his bearded dragon in one since '04. PLEASE don't take your BP's water bowl out!! (I thought I was paying better attention )



I thought the same thing first time I read the warning.

It's the breeder cage which is bigger, and I have a small Bearded.