Can a UTH be used with a tub?

[JacobBaker]

Hey guys. In a little while Im going to pick up my new pastel. I will be keeping him in a tub for space/ease. Can a UTH be used with a rubbermaid tub? If it matters it will probably be a zoo med. I am not 100% though.

Thanks,
Jake

[TMoore]

Yes, you can use a uth with a tub set up. Just make sure you have it on a thermostat or even something as simple as a dimmer switch.

[WingedWolfPsion]

CAN it? Yes, as long as you use a rheostat or a proportional thermostat (not an analog thermostat). SHOULD it? That depends on the UTH--most brands explicitely state on the packaging that they are ONLY intended for use with a glass tank, and are not safe for use with plastic cages. There ARE some UTHs that are safe for use with plastic (and with analog thermostats).

My personal advice is to take the manufacturer's warning seriously--UTHs can pose a fire hazard if they aren't used properly. It's safer to purchase one intended for use with plastic and acrylic than it is to jerry-rig one. It's probably safer to use a human heating pad than it is to use a UTH intended for glass tanks on a plastic cage.

In any case, Big Apple Herp has a bunch of UTHs that are perfectly safe to use with plastic bins. The Intellitemp heat mat they sell can even be mounted INSIDE of a cage (though I wouldn't recommend that), and is waterproof--and is in the same price range as other UTHs. The Dragon's Lair heat mats should also be safe for use with plastic, and can also be mounted inside of a cage if needed. They have an inexpensive flexible heat rope that's great for plastic bins (I own one of those myself). They also sell flex-watt.
LLLReptile has some safe choices, and so does The Bean Farm.

There's no need to resort to using a ZooMed UTH that is only intended for glass tanks when there are other, safer options available. Just shop around a bit--don't settle for what local pet stores want to carry.

[redpython]

dont put it on carpet or wood. raise it a bit off of the ground.

i am not sure why the previous poster would say not to use an analog thermostat. i have quite a collection of snakes here and use johnson's w/o any issue.

you can also set the johnsons to kick on and off at certain temp. differences.

i would never use a dimmer switch, they are cheap and they do work, but they send an even amount of power to the heat source, if there is any fluctuation of temps in the room you have your animal in, this could spell disaster.

[WingedWolfPsion]

redpython, I was saying not to use an analog thermostat with a UTH designed for glass cages if you were going to use the UTH on a plastic cage.

Because it is only on/off, the UTH might reach excessive temperatures in contact with the plastic before the thermostat kicked it back off--as generally you will want to put the probe where the animal will be basking.

In general, it's just a bad idea to use a glass-tank-only UTH with plastic caging, but if you have to do it anyhow, make it as safe as possible.

[Argentra]

The only reason those pads say not to use on plastic is because they don't know what thermostats are. It is very true that you should never use a UTH or heat tape on a plastic box if it's just plugged into the wall uncontrolled, which is how they imagine the use of their pads. If you have a good thermostat to control the heat, you can use ANY heat source on a tub...even flexwatt.

The best way to use a zoomed pad on a tub is to tape it there with foil tape. DO NOT use the adhesive on the pad, as it's very hard to remove once placed.

[JayBP]

dont put it on carpet or wood. raise it a bit off of the ground.

i am not sure why the previous poster would say not to use an analog thermostat. i have quite a collection of snakes here and use johnson's w/o any issue.

you can also set the johnsons to kick on and off at certain temp. differences.

i would never use a dimmer switch, they are cheap and they do work, but they send an even amount of power to the heat source, if there is any fluctuation of temps in the room you have your animal in, this could spell disaster.

The temp changes would have to be pretty drastic. . .

[WingedWolfPsion]

ZooMed recommends using a thermostat or rheostat with their UTHs already--they do know what one is.

As I said, there are UTHs made for use with plastic and acrylic cages--it's not hard to find one that is safe.

If you use a UTH made for glass only with a plastic cage, and a thermostat, it will PROBABLY be ok. But you need to make sure that people understand, when you are telling them to DO this, that it is at their own risk, and it's against manufacturer recommendations. If their animal is killed or their house burns down, it will be their own responsibility for misusing the product.