UTH Questions/Issues

[uafgrad]

I have a new baby ball coming in (should be here tomorrow)
This will be my first ball and needless to say we are excited.

I have been reading and absorbing as much as I can in preperation of his arrival.

This weekend I scrubbed out the aquarium we have for him (20G) and got it ready to go. I have a Walmart thermostat with inside/outside and humidity measurements. The probe is attached inside of the hide to get an accurate reading. I have coconut bark as a substrate. The screen top has been covered with lexan and I am currently playing with how much to leave uncovered to keep humidity at the appropriate level.

My problem is that the temp sucks with a UTH. The ambient is ~68 and the temp in the hide (which is over the UTH) is ~73.

Im going to replace the UTH and make sure that it is working correctly (It really doesnt get that warm). What I am wondering is can I go with a larger UTH so that the overall ambient is raised?

Thinking about going with the cobramat as it says its designed to run @ 100 degrees, which should work very well with out house being in the high 60's during the really cold parts of winter.

Finally, is there any disadvantage in wrapping the silver radiant insulatation on the sides and back of the tank to retain some of the heat?

[dr del]

Hi,

I would put some nice aquarium background on the back and two sides before the insulation - but that is mainly because I think it looks better.

One question does pop into my mind though.

How deep is your substrate and what is the temp on the glass bottom directly above the heatmat?


dr del

[uafgrad]

The substrate is about 1" deep above the heat mat

I havent tested the temp
I bought a "hi temp" heat mat today on the reccomendation of someone local. It was working great until the bottom of the tank cracked.
So Im off to buy a new tank and try again

[blackcrystal22]

The substrate is about 1" deep above the heat mat

I havent tested the temp
I bought a "hi temp" heat mat today on the reccomendation of someone local. It was working great until the bottom of the tank cracked.
So Im off to buy a new tank and try again

For almost all UTH's, your going to have to use a thermostat because they get too hot.
The bottom broke from the heat? If so, it was WAY too hot. How are you recording your temperatures?

[uafgrad]

I agree its way too hot, that was why I was trying it out today and make sure that everything is up to snuff
I have a digital thermometer (ala walmart special) that has one probe on the underside of the hot hide and the unit itself is on the cool side

Broke down and bought a lamp today with an IR bulb. I think that is the only way I am going to be able to keep temp at a reasonable level

[starmom]

I think you need to invest in a thermostat.

A thermostat regulates the heat from your UTH while your thermometer just reads how hot the bottom of your tank is.

Most heat sources running wide open and unregulated by a thermostat get way too hot for a snake.

A lot of people use Helix, Herpstat, and Johnson thermostats. I have experience with Helix and Herpstat and they are both excellent products.

[uafgrad]

Im going to order a T Stat

My problem is that with two heat mats running wide open, Im only getting a cage temp in the low 70's.
Im going to order a T Stat and IR Temp gun this week, have looked in town but no one carries anything like that. In fact, PETCO is currently out of all heat mats and only have heat rocks (which they told me work better, I didnt take the bait)

I added a 75w IR lamp last night to see if I could get the temp up. It raised the ambien temp some and raised the temp in the "hot hide" way too much. Im now playing with lamp position to try and get the ambient temp up a few more degrees and cool the hot hide down about 10 degrees.

[dr del]

Hi,

OK. I think, since your changing tanks anyway it might be a really good idea to have a thinner layer of insulating material on the bottom of the tank.

The problem is your heat mats are trying to heat through way too much substrate and, as a consequence, have to run hot enough they could seriously burn your snake should he burrow down at any point.

Try newspaper - no more than two layers should be fine.

Measure the temps directly on the glass first and try and get them to be regulated around 94f.

Then measure the temp inside the hot side hide - but make sure your snake can never come into contact with temps hot enough to crack glass.


dr del

[uafgrad]

Just bought a IR temp gun today, should be here by this weekend.
Need to do some more research on TStats, but will oreder one in the next day or two

As for newspaper..... It is hard to keep humidity up in the cage with the coconut husk and a almost completely sealed lid (last 3" are unsealed) With all of that I was still getting humidity in the 30% range after 18hours. Misting twice a day keeps the humidity around 60%. I dont know if I could keep it up with newspaper.

[dr del]

Hi,

Well a lot of people only have the section where the lamp is unsealed if they use a lamp I think.

Or you could possibly use a humid hide if you have room for 3 hides he can fit in.

But, to be honest, temps are a bit more important than humidity unless he is in shed at the moment. Especially if you are getting max temps on the warm side of low 70's f.

At those temps his immune system could be weakened leading to him catching something, and I certainly don't think he would be able to digest his food easily.

And a bad burn is a lot more serious than a stuck shed. That's just my opinion mind you as I stopped using anything but newspaper once I saw how much they actually P.

Could you use a wider water bowl? Or just try a very thin layer of the substrate - its the thickness of it that is stopping the heat getting through in all likelyhood.

You need something to control the UTH's though - as mentioned a lamp dimmer will do at a push unless your temps are very variable in the room he is in.

As mentioned before you should make sure he cannot get access to temps that will burn him but equally make sure he does get the temps he needs to survive.

**edit**

Just a thought - what are the temps in your room? Just to see how much work any heater on your tank would have to do.

**end edit**


dr del