My UTH's keep breaking?

This is the 3rd UTH i have had to buy! i have a zoo-med 20-30gal UTH on a Newtek rheostat. I dont take the adhesive off of them, I have the UTh inbetween a folded blanket and the glass. And in a few spots the UTH melts or leaves brown burn marks on the paper for the adhesive and breaks. Why is this? should i stick it to the glass?

You mean you keep the paper backing on the UTH? That's probably why you're having problems. It's probably best if you stick the UTH directly on the glass, because it'll be more efficient with heating and you won't have to run it as high. If you want to be able to un-stick it and reuse it on another enclosure, what you can do is remove the paper backing and then use aluminum foil tape (shiny side out) to cover the sticky side so it's not sticky anymore, and then with some more aluminum tape you can tape it onto the enclosure. That way you can untape it whenever you want.

That actually sounds like a good idea...

When I got my first ball, our breeder told us not to take the paper off because its almost impossible to get off the tank afterwards. just to duct tape it on. we didnt have duct tape and it didnt want to stick on, so we just took the paper off and stuck it on >.< when he out grows it we will either find a new one for that tank, or kijiji it. (Canadian trading website)

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Originally Posted by Mikekrause2000

This is the 3rd UTH i have had to buy! i have a zoo-med 20-30gal UTH on a Newtek rheostat. I dont take the adhesive off of them, I have the UTh inbetween a folded blanket and the glass. And in a few spots the UTH melts or leaves brown burn marks on the paper for the adhesive and breaks. Why is this? should i stick it to the glass?

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2 things, zoo-med is not known for quality products and you are not using it as directed. I'm sure if you read the directions it would tell you to stick it to the glass and make sure it has some airflow. your wrapping it in a blanket.....

this is right off of zoo-meds website

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Originally Posted by Alexandra V

You mean you keep the paper backing on the UTH? That's probably why you're having problems. It's probably best if you stick the UTH directly on the glass, because it'll be more efficient with heating and you won't have to run it as high. If you want to be able to un-stick it and reuse it on another enclosure, what you can do is remove the paper backing and then use aluminum foil tape (shiny side out) to cover the sticky side so it's not sticky anymore, and then with some more aluminum tape you can tape it onto the enclosure. That way you can untape it whenever you want.

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thats really good thinking! I dont want it to be directly on the glass because i use 3 sheets of paper towel as substrate so i dont want him to burn. My thermometer probe is on the side of the glass above the UTH.

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Originally Posted by Mikekrause2000

thats really good thinking! I dont want it to be directly on the glass because i use 3 sheets of paper towel as substrate so i dont want him to burn. My thermometer probe is on the side of the glass above the UTH.

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if you don't want him to burn, turn down the rheostat, follow the directions....

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Originally Posted by Mikekrause2000

thats really good thinking! I dont want it to be directly on the glass because i use 3 sheets of paper towel as substrate so i dont want him to burn. My thermometer probe is on the side of the glass above the UTH.

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If you are using a rheostat as you stated above, then just set it lower. You'll find that with it directly (more or less) on the glass you won't have to have it as hot. I use this method with both my enclosures and have had no problems maintaining optimal temperatures. You just have to fiddle around a bit before you get it to the perfect temperature.