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  1. #1
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    UTH Thermostats?

    I'm very new at this and want to get all the information I can to do this correctly and keep my new snake as happy as possible.

    I am told that the most common way to heat a ball python's habitat is to use a UTH.

    Do UTHs come with thermostats, or do you have to buy them seperately and install them yourself?

    If you have to install them yourself, how easy is the installation?

    With these thermostats, will I need additional thermomiters to guage the temperature more accurately?

    How much will I be paying for a decent thermostat?

    One final request, please point me to a website where I can buy both the reliable thermostat and UTHs

  2. #2
    BPnet Lifer Kaorte's Avatar
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    Re: UTH Thermostats?

    UTHs are the most common heating element for ball pythons and in my opinion, the most effective.

    They don't come with thermostats but MUST be used with one.

    To install well, you just plug the UTH into the thermostat, tape the probe to the UTH and set the temperature. Tada. I wouldn't call it installation more like a setup. So yeah, it is as easy as plugging in a lamp.

    You will need at least one thermometer (digital with a probe) to measure the hotside where the UTH is.

    The cheapest thermostat is the reptitemp 500r. I have used it successfully and so have many others. It is about $30 and you can find it at some pet stores and most online pet supply stores.

    For a UTH and the reptitemp http://www.reptilesupply.com is a pretty decent site.
    ~Steffe

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    knott00 (07-02-2009)

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    Re: UTH Thermostats?

    Thank you for your help. I really appreciate all the support everyone on this site offers.

  5. #4
    BPnet Lifer Kaorte's Avatar
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    Re: UTH Thermostats?

    No problem
    ~Steffe

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    Re: UTH Thermostats?

    One more quick question.
    I have a 20 gallon tank and I read on Glass Vivarium post that you should have a UTH at each side of the tank, one warming the tank to about 90 degrees and the other around 80 degrees.
    Do I really need 2 UTHs for my tank?
    And will 1 ReptiTemp 500R allow me to set them to seperate temperatures?

  7. #6
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    Re: UTH Thermostats?

    Whether you need a 2nd uth on your cool side will really depend on the kind of ambient temps that the room has. If you are from a warmer climate you may not need the 2nd one but if your enclosure is located in a room that gets cold you may. The ReptiTemp will not allow you to set two different temps.

    I personally have not used the 500R but have heard mixed things about them. Ranging from they work great and have for a long time to it getting stuck into an on position and almost harming snakes.

    I'm not sure what kind of budget you are working with but there are some very realiable thermostats. Ranco and Johnson on/off thermostats have been used in this hobby for a long time and they work great. A step above this would be a helix or herpstat proportional thermostat.

    Here is a good FAQ to thermostats...

    http://www.reptilebasics.com/Thermostat-FAQ-sp-10.html
    ~*Rich
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  8. #7
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    Re: UTH Thermostats?

    I personally have never used two uth's on my tanks back when I use to have glass aquariums. I had one on the hot side set on 93-94 degrees with a hide on the hot side and one on the cool side with black poster board covering the sides and back of the tanks and never had any problems.
    These days I use the tub set ups because of how easy they are to maintain and they provide the best habitat without having to mess around with them that much. Reptile basics is a good site to order from also. Like I said I only used uth but I'm sure some people use two.


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    Re: UTH Thermostats?

    Quote Originally Posted by knott00 View Post
    One more quick question.
    I have a 20 gallon tank and I read on Glass Vivarium post that you should have a UTH at each side of the tank, one warming the tank to about 90 degrees and the other around 80 degrees.
    Do I really need 2 UTHs for my tank?
    And will 1 ReptiTemp 500R allow me to set them to seperate temperatures?
    As someone who has to use 2 UTHs, I will share my experiences with you.
    I also have the Reptitemp 500r, and yes you can control both UTHs with it. The 500r has two diff inputs on it to control two heating sources.
    What you need (and what any tstat should have anyways) are two backups for your two UTHs. This is the most common, and cheapest dimmer to use as a backup.

    First, plug each UTH into a respective dimmer then into the wall, but NOT into the tstat. Set each dimmer so your hot side temp is 95 and your cool is 85. This may take a while to adjust. Once that's all set, plug each dimmer/UTH combo into the two plugs on the 500r. (tstat > dimmer > UTH) Then adjust the dial on the 500r, until you get the desired temps on both sides.

    With all this you will achieve the temp gradient, as well as a backup in case the tstat fails in the on position. If it does, the dimmers will limit the output of the UTHs to 95 and 85, until you notice.

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    Re: UTH Thermostats?

    Thank you for all of the great recommendations. Its good to know that I have a lot of roads I can take to get the job done. Options are good.

  11. #10
    Registered User Patricia's Avatar
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    Re: UTH Thermostats?

    I had no idea until this forum that a UTH must be used with a temperature controller. Had even watched a long YouTube video showing how to set up the exact same 10 gallon tank I have, in which the UTH was stuck to the bottom and only newspaper was lain on top. A timer was mentioned as an automatic on/off switch, but I don't recall anything about the danger of burns and necessity of controlling the temperature.

    Thank you for this thread!

    I stopped off at both Petco and PetSmart to see if they have this Repti Temp 500R. Neither had it, but I did see a $50 Zilla temperature controller that takes up to 1000W which 3 things could plug into. We have a UTH and basking lamp, so would use 2 of those outlets, but now I'm reading in this forum that a basking lamp isn't needed because BPs hide anyway. Makes sense to me!

    So, is the Repti Temp enough? Or should I get that Zilla one that takes up to 3 heat/light sources? I want to do right by our new BP. Its prior owner didn't even have a UTH, using only an overhead basking lamp. (The poor guy was cold the first time I touched it, but has been warm and happy since we brought it home.)

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