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Hi:

Sorry to hear about this...

"It hardly even got warm enough to keep my snakes warm on cold nights, so I had never even considered a thermostat. Should I still have one on my heating elements regardless?"

Since I was not there to see it, this is only a speculative opinion based partly on what you have described, and partly on what I've experienced in the past with similar events. Having said that:

Non of the thermostats (I know of) that are being used to keep reptile enclosures heated will prevent a heating pad malfunction. They will only prevent a heat source from exceeding a particular temperature. Therefore a thermostat will not necessarily protect you from the consequences of a defective heat source. The fuse in the thermostat (if there is one) is designed to protect the thermostat...not what is plugged in to it. A good quality thermostat, with built-in fuse protection might have cut out when (if) it detected an increase in current consumption (past what it is designed to handle) but there is no guarantee of that. Much depends on the fuse rating of the fuse in the thermostat vs. the current capacity of the heat source. Though it never hurts to use a thermostat that has built-in current limiting.

Without actually being there to see it, it sounds as though you experienced an increase in current consumption to your heat pad. An abnormal increase in current consumption will produce a ton of heat in a short space of time, and can quickly melt things like wire insulation; heat mat coverings, etc. Not to mention the potential for a fire if such a problem goes unchecked. Was there any visible damage to the pad? If so, where? It almost sounds as though the only thing that would have prevented this incident is localized fuse protection.

The fuse protecting the wall socket that you plugged your heat source into (and which is probably back at your circuit breaker box) is likely too large to effectively trip out on a problem with such a low power-consuming heat mat. The mat would likely fail before the fuse would. You really should consider individual fuse protection - sized accordingly for what it is you're protecting (the heat pad in this case). For your replacement pad consider removing the plug that it comes with and installing a 120VAC plug that has a fuse holder built in - and install the correct-size (amp rating) fuse for the pad, etc; or buy and in-line fuse holder and install it between your wall socket and the pad, etc.

Many people don't believe it's necessary to provide localized fuse protection so they don't do it. And most people don't experience what you have experienced, further evidence to support their theory that localized fuse protection is overkill. However, you only need one incident...

You install the fuse to protect the heat source...but you also have it there to prevent the consequences of a catastrophic heat source failure. The cost of individual fuse protection is not that high in the general scheme of things when you look at it this way.

A power surge protector protects agains power surges (e.g. voltage spikes, which can cause havoc to sensistive electronic devices, etc). Doesn't sound as though you experienced a power surge. So a surge protector probably wouldn't have helped you here.

Good luck,

Stu

Edit:

"Anyone else have a problem with flexwatt??? "

Tim, I had a piece of Flexwatt melt through one of my chondro tubs one time. But it was the result of mis-application on my part, not the fault of the Flexwatt. I've used Flexwatt for a couple of years now and have not had problems. However, I now have enough of it running that, as far as I'm concerned, I've increased my chances that something nasty could happen. So I'm in the process of protecting the heat sources individually...just to be on the safe side.