Brooder plate brands/alternatives

[Weeg]

Hey everyone, a friend of mine is going to be brooding chicks soon once they hatch in a few weeks. She's building her stock for a breeding business we plan to start this year. Anyway, I was wondering about brooder plate brands. I purchased one from Amazon last year (off brand) and will never again. I'm pretty sure it killed my chicks. It was definitely not warm enough, so I'm trying to do as much research as I can this time so I get a good brand.
I know that Brinsea is a reliable brand. We were planning on going with that, but to have one of those in every chick brooder as our breeds expand is going to get expensive. I don't want to use heat lamps.
I've heard that the Premier is also a reliable brand and cheeper? What does everyone else think about that brand. What about heating pad heat caves? Like in this thread. Would that work in place of a heat plate? I know pads are cheeper than plates. Just trying to analyze my options.
Thanks everyone!

 

[Poodlemum]

Following, I was intending on using the mama heat pad method as well. Was not intending on having babies so soon though Our washroom is quite chilly still, but heat lamps make me so anxious

 

[chfriedmam]

I am not a pro, but I have used the Brinsea safely. The thing is, it clearly says ambient temp needs to be at least 50 degrees. Premier 1 does not have that stipulation. It is cheaper, comes in larger sizes, looks to be a quality piece of equipment, and it can be stood up do be a "wall" too to be used with adults if ever necessary. The only thing, and I'm sure you've seen this, is that people report that it gets so hot it burns chicks!!! To me that means it is also a fire risk along the lines of a heat lamp.

If you are going to raise chick en masse you might have to do a hover for it to be economical.

 

[Canina]

Following, I was intending on using the mama heat pad method as well. Was not intending on having babies so soon though Our washroom is quite chilly still, but heat lamps make me so anxious

Just consult the reptile community, they will show you how to use heat lamps and mats properly

 

[junior67]

I used a MHP last year and it was GREAT! I loved it. the chicks were off the heat around 4 weeks old on their own. I got one that had 9 heat settings and an option that it could be on for 2 hr, 4 hrs or you could turn off the auto shut off (which you need to be sure the one you get has). I got it off of amazon. then I just got cheap cooling racks from Walmart and a few nuts and bolts (4' I think so you can get them high enough). If you want I can look up my amazon order to find the heating pad (oh and the cover is washable. but I did put press and seal over it so the heating pad wasn't covered in poop.)

 

[Poodlemum]

Just consult the reptile community, they will show you how to use heat lamps and mats properly

We actually have a tortoise and struggling with her stupid lamp lately. Dumb bulb keeps burning out So far the chick lamps have been fine for months and months, so it’s frustrating that one keeps giving me issues

 

[Canina]

We actually have a tortoise and struggling with her stupid lamp lately. Dumb bulb keeps burning out So far the chick lamps have been fine for months and months, so it’s frustrating that one keeps giving me issues

Tortoises are super cute and way more active than people think lol, that’s really nice.

Are you sure there isn’t a fault with the bulb holder if just that one consistently blows? Is it plugged into a surge protected socket with the correct fuses? Is it on a dimming thermostat? How powerful is it and how large is the space because people often go overkill with lights. Assuming you’re taking about a basking lamp or do you have fluorescents for UVB? My snakes only have 50W bulbs and their enclosure is the recommended temps even with the rheostat turned down, but to be fair that’s an enclosed space whilst I’m assuming the tortoise is on an an open table. Either way I still get a hotspot in the 90s with a mercury vapour bulb on low and the bulbs last about 6 months. I have also used halogen bulbs but think I will stick with the mercury vapour. I haven’t played with CHEs yet but like the sound of them even if you have to add other bulbs.

 

[AGeese]

I'm not so sure about my Brinsea it either seems too hot or not at all and I'm not big on the adjustable legs. I never know if I have it too high or too low. The very light duty power cord is usually in the way and I've seen them peck at it. But I believe in having redundancy so I also use ceramic emitters.

 

[Poodlemum]

Tortoises are super cute and way more active than people think lol, that’s really nice.

Are you sure there isn’t a fault with the bulb holder if just that one consistently blows? Is it plugged into a surge protected socket with the correct fuses? Is it on a dimming thermostat? How powerful is it and how large is the space because people often go overkill with lights. Assuming you’re taking about a basking lamp or do you have fluorescents for UVB? My snakes only have 50W bulbs and their enclosure is the recommended temps even with the rheostat turned down, but to be fair that’s an enclosed space whilst I’m assuming the tortoise is on an an open table. Either way I still get a hotspot in the 90s with a mercury vapour bulb on low and the bulbs last about 6 months. I have also used halogen bulbs but think I will stick with the mercury vapour. I haven’t played with CHEs yet but like the sound of them even if you have to add other bulbs.

I totally missed this Thanks for such a detailed reply though! I’ve got it plugged into a surge protection extension thingy, the one with an on/off switch. No dimmer or anything, just a 75w halogen for the typical Amazon tortoise enclosure. We have the separate UVB and it’s never burned out before we replace it as recommended. I haven’t tried the CHE since they need the other lighting anyway and she hasn’t felt the need to try brumating. Anyway, I hope this new fixture lasts longer

Alice was very excited to get her first trip outside this year, she loves to roam and is anxious for dandelion season

 

[Poodlemum]

My chicks that hatched first weekend in March have a mama heating pad cave that’s going great, I’m really loving it. They’ve been with it about a week now? My washroom is unheated and I wouldn’t call it chilly right now. I’ll check my temp gauge for the nightly lows tomorrow though. It’s been around 61° during the day. It took some time for me to get them using it properly. The first night everyone was stretched out on top with their little giraffe neck poses It was super cute! But after I made them go under a few times, they use it correctly now and I love the better schedule on it. I might actually buy at least one more, maybe two, but I’d wait the first week so I can see everyone better. Just paranoid lol