Additional basking heat sources should be provided for most species, however. Heat pads Heat-pads are sometimes recommended as a universal solution to the problems of heating reptile cages. This view is not shared by the author who has encountered many behavioural problems linked to their use with tortoises. Heat pads provide very little direct radiant heat and can also seriously impair thermoregulatory behaviour in many species. They should not be relied upon as the sole heat source as they do not encourage natural basking.
Some species are also prone to overheating if heat-pads are used.
Heat pads can be used effectively in incubators, however, and waterproof types are also very useful for the base heating of aquatic turtle aquariums. Their other uses are somewhat limited with most tortoise species and they are definitely not recommended as the principal daytime source of heating for hatchlings. Heat pads are also well suited to base-heating box turtles and other semiaquatic species, particularly those requiring a high humidity environment and minimal temperature fluctuations, i.e. many equatorial species. We have also found heat pads to be very useful for heating sick tortoises overnight, especially those with respiratory diseases or those on antibiotic therapy where body temperature needs to be maintained within close tolerances in order for drugs to attain maximum effectiveness. All electrical fixtures and fittings pose a potentially serious hazard.