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UTH enough?

amystl

amystl

Feed my emu this gun.
Hello, I'm new to this site, but not new to snakes. I love the little guys!

But this is my first time using an UTH. I'm extremely paranoid about fires (having accidently set two in my previous apartments.)

I mounted the UTH on the side of my 10g aquarium where I am housing my new baby snow corn. Here's my question ...

Having read that if a snake spends all of his/her time right next to the UTH, it's not enough heat. I have my apartment set at around 74F, and the UTH plugged in 24h a day. Well, I just got the little guy on Friday, let him settle into his home all weekend while I was out of town, and came back tonight and he was still in the same spot, right next to the heater.

Is the heater producing enough heat for him? Should I buy a heat lamp as well? I worked in a herp house for about a year, and we always used lamps during the day and never UTH for our herps, be it snakes or alligators, etc.

I guess the first thing I should do is get a non-stick on the side thermometer to moniter the temp inside myself.

Any suggestions would help and are greatly appreciated!

Happy herping all,
Amy
 
I have heard that a UTH and get really hot and cook your snake, so what you want to do it get a Temperature controller that way you can set the temp to what you want it to be and not worry about frying your snakey....
 
Actually you should get a digital thermometer with a probe on it. Most people have the uth, under the tank and have the probe on top so you can check the temp. They arnt expensive, I have one one the warm and one on the cool.
 
If its a zoo med it shouldnt get hot enough to harm your snake aslong as you have substrate. Also you should have the uth on the bottom although it can be mounted on the side it is prefferd underneath. You absolutly must use a thermometer. If you guess it could be a bad idea. Glass enclosures lose heat faster than anything else. If your heat pad isnt zoo med I would suggest a thermastat.

LUBU
 
LUBU said:
If its a zoo med it shouldnt get hot enough to harm your snake aslong as you have substrate.
Click to expand...

fwiw I'm using zoo meds and they get very hot! Up into the hundreds if I don't controle them.
 
Well mabe if the thermometer is directly on the glass. Also my tank might have thicker glass. With substrate it wouldnt go over 95. Just make sure your snake cant get under your sustrate.
 
Amystl- get a thermometer and measure the temp of the glass directly above the UTH. That should tell you if it is warm enough for your snake (or too warm). Just because he has stayed in that area doesn't mean that it isn't warm enough for him.
 
I use a piece of newsprint over my uth, and under my substrate, to keep the snake's belly off of the hot glass. For some new hatchlings I'm getting, I have two big critter cages (breed box type), that can use only the Zoo Med minis (suggested by Zoo Med) on the side, so I was thinking of taping a piece of newsprint on the side of the cage where the uth is, just to be safe.
 
Get a probe thermometer to check your temps before you do anything else.

But .... setup actually sounds OK.

Most people bottom mount their UTH's ... I've always side-mounted mine. 15 years and no problems so far. Only ever had one regurge and that was from a female who'd not long laid eggs (so I'm not attributin the regurge to temps) and recovered fine after a wee rest.

I live in a cold climate as well. I do use tungsten stiplights and bulbs to provide a little extra heat when it gets really cold but the UTH on it's own is fine the vast majority of the time.

I wouldn't worry too much but check your temps anyway ... may well be worth investing in a rheostat/thermostat as well.
 
Thanks for all your replies! I can now definetely see I need a new thermometer, which I will get today.

The pad itself is only luke-warm to the touch, but I'm not gauging the heat emitted from that. I just don't see how this little pad is warming the tank at all.

I'm just concerned that he's never been active, as of yet. Always hiding somewhere all day and all night. Maybe he's still a little stressed.

Thanks for the replies guys! :)

Happy herping,
Amy
 
Hi Amy!
Truth is, corns stay hidden most of the time since they're basically nocturnal. Not as fun as a garter, who comes out in the daytime, but I love my corns anyway. Also, our hands a very warm, about the temp we want our UTH's to get, so we tend to think that the UTH isn't warm enough when it is.
Cheers!
Kimberly
 
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