# Stanfield Heat Pad (Pig Blanket)



## You Me and Mr T (Dec 13, 2010)

I bought a Stanfield heat pad from Osborne Industries last year for my sulcata. It works really well and is for the most part very durable. However, when a 100 lb sulcata gets the cord wrapped around his foot, you can guess who wins. My heat pad no longer works because the cord got stretched out. They warranty the heat pad up to 1 year for defects, but the warranty does not include the cord. I called Osborne Industries this morning and they said they can repair the cord for about $40 (plus shipping probably). This is better than the $100+ for a new one. Just thought I'd pass this information along in case anyone else has a similar issue.

~Jason


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## Yvonne G (Dec 13, 2010)

There's a little metal thing-a-ma-bob sold in the plumbing section that is used to hold pipes to the wall. I don't know what its called. But its in the shape of a "U" with a little flange on either side with a screw hole in it. You buy the small size that will just fit your cord, and screw it to the wall at ground level. Then place another one up a little higher. You have to secure the cord so they can't pull it away


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## You Me and Mr T (Dec 13, 2010)

I guess it depends on your setup. I have mine in a XL dogloo and it floats on the floor (dirt). Ideally you would want to screw it down to the floor as well. Even with your setup, Mr T would find a way to destroy it


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## Maggie Cummings (Dec 13, 2010)

I have mine set up the way Yvonne shows you in the pictures for my 80 pound Sulcata. Every night he goes in and gets on his pad and digs like crazy...the pad and my set up are now 5 years old and Bob hasn't wrecked it yet. You need to try the way she has showed...I suggest you get something better then a dogloo. Bob has a 20'X12' shed...


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## You Me and Mr T (Dec 13, 2010)

The dogloo and heat pad are fine here in Phoenix. Mr. T is really picky about where he sleeps. If we bought him a huge shed, he probably wouldn't sleep in there anyway. This thread is about the $40 to fix the heat pad. It wasn't meant to be a thread about my setup.

~Jason


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## Laura (Dec 13, 2010)

...but.. if you use a wooden dog house instead of a plastic igloo,, you could fasten the cord as shown and prevent the entanglement.. and a possible second repair bill or new pad purchase. 
Nice to know there is a repair option.. thanks for the info.


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## -ryan- (Dec 13, 2010)

No need to get defensive. People are trying give you some insight as to how to avoid damage to the heat pad and possible injury to your tort.


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## Yvonne G (Dec 13, 2010)

Sorry, Jason...just trying to offer my help.


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## You Me and Mr T (Dec 13, 2010)

-ryan- said:


> No need to get defensive. People are trying give you some insight as to how to avoid damage to the heat pad and possible injury to your tort.



Sorry if it sounded defensive. I was just trying to keep the thread on topic. I know a lot of people use the heat pads on this forum and I thought the information I received would be useful to others.


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## Maggie Cummings (Dec 13, 2010)

Sorry Jason, I thought I was on topic,I didn't mean any disrespect or insult. We are all here to help, that's all. You obviously have a problem with the set up for your large tortoise. I also have a large tortoise, one who does not cause the damage you described because he is set up correctly. I just thought I was helping...


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## DeanS (Dec 13, 2010)

The problem is using a dogloo when you own a goliath sulcata...it's definitely the housing that needs changing! Don't worry about Mr T adjusting to new quarters...they're VERY adaptable!


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## You Me and Mr T (Dec 14, 2010)

DeanS said:


> The problem is using a dogloo when you own a goliath sulcata...it's definitely the housing that needs changing! Don't worry about Mr T adjusting to new quarters...they're VERY adaptable!



I tried to keep this on topic....

Have you tried arguing with a 100 lb sulcata recently?

Actually, the dogloo is recommended by a lot of people on this forum and works out nicely. We use the XL dogloo and it is perfect. The heat pad takes up less than half of the floor space. It's not a great solution for cold climates, but in the desert it's fine.

If you look at the pictures in this thread, you'll see a problem with a non-dogloo setup. The power cord to the heat pad is definitely bent past its recommended bend radius. She could be having a similar problem in no time. What she needs to do is bolt her heat pad to the floor.

Dean,

Please refrain from acting like you're the world's authority on tortoises. I see you have a lot of posts and have been raising exotics since you were a child, but please point me in the direction of a scientific study that indicates that sulcatas shouldn't be kept in dogloos, but should instead be kept in home made wood dog houses or plastic sheds. What's the difference. Should I keep my sulcata inside?

Jason


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## Laura (Dec 14, 2010)

well.. ideally.. they need to have the option to sit On the heat source or OFF so they dont over heat, or dont have a choice. There are many people here whom have been doing this for years and have learned the hard way or by just trying different things.. that works best for them AND the animals. 
There is not One way to do things.. just helpful advice and suggestions that maybe others havent thought of before, that could make it better or easier for others.. Sharing... networking... its what this site is all about.


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## Maggie Cummings (Dec 14, 2010)

Yvonne has been involved in turtle and tortoise rescue for almost 40 years and I'll bet if you asked her she will tell you that the set up you are looking at is old, 10 years or so. She knows how to take care of her equipment and I know it is fastened to the floor.

My large tort is in a wooden shed that is 20'X12' not a plastic shed or a dogloo.

Jason, I don't understand why you are so argumentative and rude, we are a friendly group and we are just trying to help...we all felt that keeping a 100 pound Sulcata in a dogloo on an unfastened pig blanket was a bad idea for the tort so we were just trying to help...that's all.


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## -ryan- (Dec 14, 2010)

maggie3fan said:


> Jason, I don't understand why you are so argumentative and rude, we are a friendly group and we are just trying to help



Don't bother. He's already decided that he is above accepting helpful advice from the people on here that have been doing this forever.


As far as keeping the message on topic, that is exactly what they have been doing. You are going to run into the same problem over and over again if you don't fix the problem with your setup, and the knowledgeable sulcata keepers on this site have tried to help show you how to fix the problem. Discovering that the company will fix your pad for the right money is only a band-aid, and that is information that our members hopefully don't need to know. No one here needs to know how to fix a problem after it happens if they can learn how to avoid the problem altogether.

Sorry if that comes off as rude, but I just can't believe that you are throwing away such good advice. For a forum member to go out of the way to take pictures of their setup for the sole purpose of helping you improve yours is going way above and beyond the call of duty.


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## You Me and Mr T (Dec 14, 2010)

-ryan- said:


> maggie3fan said:
> 
> 
> > Jason, I don't understand why you are so argumentative and rude, we are a friendly group and we are just trying to help
> ...



Have you ever seen a giant XL dogloo? It is more than enough space for my tortoise to get on and off his heat pad. I can actually sit up in the dogloo myself. They're made for XL dogs like Great Danes. Don't you realize these tortoises live in burrows and probably feel safer in a smaller shelter, rather than a huge shed? My tortoise is VERY picky and I'd never lock him in a shed that he didn't want to be in. That's just insane.

There are countless threads on this forum from experienced members attacking new people, so this is not a new issue for this forum.

This thread was about the company willing to fix the pad for $40. It was in no way about my setup. They just happened to jump on the fact that I'm using a dogloo, that by the way, was recommended by THIS forum. I'd find those threads, but it's pointless.

So, I've already accepted the advice of this forum, meaning I am not above anyone and I'm grateful for the advice I've received.


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## exoticsdr (Dec 14, 2010)

Wow! I'm speechless.


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## Maggie Cummings (Dec 14, 2010)

Jason, I am sorry if you feel that the more experienced keepers are attacking you. I personally feel that you became rude to Yvonne, Dean and I first when we expressed the thought that your set-up (the dogloo) with the pig blanket inside wasn't a good enough shelter for your tortoise. Rather than a dispute of egos, we were simply worried about your tortoise. I think you became rude and insulting first. I am sincerely sorry that this thing has escalated the way it has. We are normally a fun and helpful group. Not one of us insulted you the way that you have us. Possibly we can try to get off on a better path.

I agree with you that our tortoises don't like living in a large container, so I am showing you Bob's shed and his sleeping box inside his shed.
We live in the Pacific North West and Bob has to stay inside on the colder snowy days, he lives in a large shed so he can walk off the nervous energy that all Sulcata have, this need to pace. He goes out every day and makes the decision himself if the snow or rain is too much for him. He lives in a large shed so that he is more comfortable when he has to stay inside.
Here is his shed and the second picture is of his sleeping box and a tort table with my Hermanni living in it...altho the wires have been fixed so that they are contained in a safer way now...


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