I haven't tried the heat mat you were looking at on Big Apple, but I have 3 of their Dragon's Lair ones. I like them way better than the Zoo Med one I've got. The shipping from Big Apple is expensive, but where I got 3 mats at one time, it actually made them a little less expensive than the Zoo Med ones at Petco. So if you had some other things you wanted to get from them that might make the shipping more cost effective. The thing I like about the Dragon's Lair over the Zoo Med is that they don't get as hot, you still need a rheostat or thermastat, but unregulated my Zoo Med will get to 120 degrees, the Dagon's Lair will get to 100 degrees, which is still too hot, but it takes it way longer to get that high, so you would have more time to notice if something is wrong with your rheostat.