Under Tank Heaters CAUTION!!

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Originally Posted by Skiploder

You and I may not have - I've seen Jessica's post and know that she knows better.

Someone new to reptiles may be browsing the forum or searching for info on UTHs and might happen upon this thread.

That ambiguity may lead them to believe that flexwatt can be run wide open. That would be a shame.....

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And in that case we can only hope that someone new would read through the entire thread post by post and word for word. So that it might discourage them from trying to use these heating methods without a thermostat. We both know that unfortunately there are many people out there who are willing to cut corners to have something they cannot afford. Especially kids with parents who have no knowledge of these things.

Even if using a natures heat UTH, if someone is determined to use one without a temp comtroller, checking it at least 2 to 3 times a week would make it clear if its working properly or not. If any herp owner doesnt clean and check on their pets and its water at LEAST 2 to 4 times a week, they shouldnt own them at all.

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Originally Posted by OhhWatALoser

well honestly it doesn't matter what brand of UTH you buy, they can all over heat.

all a UTH is, is a resistor. you run electricity through it, they heat up. the higher the wattage ratting, the hotter they get. doesn't matter what brand, they all work the same.

now depending on air flow under the tank to disipate heat, ambient air temp, and what you have between the animal and the heat pad can cause over heating. no air flow makes doesn't allow the heat to go anywhere else (mayb you want it, mayb you don't), hotter the air in the room, hotter the temp everywhere else, and i think the biggest issue is what you have inbetween the heat pad and your animal. some people have 1/4 inch thick glass and a inch of something. and the temp is fine on top but when the animal burrows, the get burnt.

now also throwing a heatpad with no airflow, in a already hot room, under a tank with a inch of stuff inside of it, the heat has no where to go and the heat pad meltsdown, starts shorting out and then gets even hotter, cycle continues to getting hotter and hotter til it burns up or burns your animal, starts a fire, or just simply trips a breaker.

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EXACTLY! I should have put these details in my first post... The first thing i learned was the importance of proper bedding thickness and having the tank raised off the surface its sitting on. Even with a temperature controller, why would you want a heavy tank sitting on the cord for the UTH? Thats a disaster just waiting to happen. Yes every UTH is different. Some higher wattage than others. All can malfunction at some point and none should be trusted long term by any means. Even the low wattage ones that say on the box they will not overheat. You get a thanks for adding details i did not think to add.

Here is the bottom line and really all you need to know:

Use a good thermostat with any heating element. It doesn't matter what type or brand of UTH you use.

Anyone that sells a certain brand and tells you that you shouldn't use any other is most likely lying to you to make a sale. It doesn't matter how much experience they have.

I have used nearly every brand of UTH out there at one point or another. They have all worked perfectly fine with a good thermostat.

None of them should be compressed by having something heavy on top of them and none should have something constantly sliding over them, wearing away at the protective plastic.