I brought home three new Ball Pythons yesterday (I'll make a progression thread soon, I'm very excited!) and they are all in tub setups. I am using a UTH for each, and all are hooked up to a thermostat set at 94. So here's where I've got a problem.

Right now, the temps are 83, 82, and 81! I'm trying my best to keep the room warm to help raise them, but I'm wondering if this is my fault.

I put the UTH on the dresser, not directly on the tub, as I wasn't sure if that was okay and couldn't find answers online. The tub is also elevated by the included rubber feet, so it's quite a bit away from the heater. Could this be the problem?

*my thermostat probe sits directly on the bottom of the tub under the substrate.

I tried to get pictures to show what I mean;




^ This is how far it is raised off the desk.




^ Me lifting the tub up to show the UTH placement.



These snakes are all inside of the tubs and I have nowhere else to house them, especially since they are in QT from my other BP Sam, so I'm desperate to fix this.

If I need to place the UTHs directly on the bottom, I will need to unstick them from where they are already placed. Is it possible to do this without damaging the UTH? If I don't pull on anything and slide something like a butter-knife under to unstick it?

Also, is it a fire hazard having directly on the bottom?

Please let me know what I should do, I've gotta get these temps up by tonight, thank you a million times.