Quote Originally Posted by Badger View Post
It's basically a pad that you stick to the bottom or side of your terrarium/aquarium that heats up. Plugs into the wall. I have never used them, but they are pretty popular. Some people have had problems with them overheating, shorting out etc. though. I personally use lights.
I think the heating pads are for use only with a dry (or the dry side of a) tank. I've heard that using a heating pad with an aquatic tank can crack the glass if the difference between the water temp and the pad is too great. Do you know if this is true? Personally, if you want to heat the water, I'd go for an aquatic heater that is used for aquariums, and I'd use lights for the rest of the tank. But unless your house gets really cold in the winter, you might not need any heating. They're good in 68-78 (Fahrenheit) 20-25.5 C (?) temps and are ok with occasional drops to 60F/15.5C.