UTH or Bulbs

This is something that constantly is argued about but is never answered. I would like to know without any arguments just why you chose UTH or Bulb. Along with some personal experience with each?

My thought is it depends on what you are keeping. Bulbs are great for most lizards because they are drawn to the light as a source of heat. That being said bulbs can also really kill humidity fast. My thoughts are if you are keeping a snake it is easier to use a UTH and not constantly battle with keeping high humidity (if your species requires high humidity). UTH's also draw less power then a bulbs, so if your collection is large, it is cheaper to go with a UTH. I use bulbs with all my Lizards and a UTH for my childrens python.

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Originally Posted by seanzee1

This is something that constantly is argued about but is never answered. I would like to know without any arguments just why you chose UTH or Bulb. Along with some personal experience with each?

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For ball pythons I use UTH because it aids in digestion, and ball pythons are nocturnal - they aren't basking in the sun in their natural environment and do not require overhead lighting/heat.

It also has a lot to do with where you live and the environment the viv is in. Living somewhere dry and warm, you can probably can just get away with a uth and have the proper heat gradients and humidity. Somewhere really cold , adjustments would have to be made while including a heat lamp.

Where is the option for both? I have a cold home and my ball tank is not in the snake room and instead is in my living room. Its to cold there so I use a uth, che, and a bulb on a 40 gallon tank to keep things right.

In the snake room that is heated with a oil heater its uth all the way for the terrestrial snakes.

My gtp uses a rhp and my pacman has a bulb.

Both have different pros and cons and work better in certain situations. My conditions require using many different heating methods to heat my collection correctly so I don't know how to answer the poll.

In my opinion it's UTH over bulbs, no questions asked, BUT, that does depend on the enclosure and your house. If you are using a large tank in a cold house, you may have to use a UTH and bulbs to keep the temps up. If you are using a smaller enclosure that holds heat, like a tub, UTH is all you will need. Bulbs kill humidity and give you one more thing to worry about.