UTH Not working?

The thermostat attached to the UTH in Oliver's tank reads 90F. The probe is between the UTH and the tank, as per the set up instructions in the Sticky here.

I'm confused because Oliver's heat lamp wasn't on last night, and the temp in the tank was a snake chilling 68F. This is the room temperature where he is located.....

So why isn't it warmer? Why does the UTH thermostat read 90F when it obviously isn't? Which piece is broken - the UTH, the thermostat, or both?

Many thanks in advance :-)

Pamela




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Btw: the thermostat is a hydrofarm, it's a 20 gallon tank, and Zilla UTH for 20 gallon tank


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do you have a temp gun or a thermometer probe sitting over the hot spot? If not touch the heat mat and see if it is in fact warm.

Where are you reading that temp? Not all heat goes through the glass and substrate, so you'll need the thermostat set higher to get the temps where you want at the hot spot. Also, the UTH only heats the surface just above it. It does nothing to provide ambient temps through the tank. You need a heat lamp all the time, not just during the day. If the light bothers you, you can switch over to a CHE instead of a bulb.

An UTH is not for ambient temps. Where are you getting you temp reading from?

I use an infrared gun


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Oliver has a CHE on top of his tank running all of the time. The UTH feels slightly warm at a thermostat reading if 90 degrees.

I do have wet washcloths on top of his cage with aluminum foil over them to help seal in heat and humidity. This brutal winter is not helping!!!!


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I take the temp with the gun in his hide and around the bottom of his cage at various points. The hot side under the CHE and in his hide gets toasty in the 90s. But directly above the UTH, it's only about 76.


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Hydrofarms can/do have a variance in them. I have 3 set to 100 degrees to get 90-92 degree hotspots and use 40w night bulbs to increase ambient tank temps. My apartment ranges from 68-72 ambient. I suggest to verify your temps, grab an accurite or another temp gun so you have a control/test.

How thick is your substrate? have you tried moving the substrate away and using your temp gun to measure what that temp is?