What size uth?

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Originally Posted by kevinb

I'm getting a 10 gallon tank for the BP baby I'm getting..I'm going to go with a ultratherm uth from reptile basics but I'm not quite sure what size to get....a little help please? I'm not sure if its supposed to cover the whole bottom of the tank or half or what?

Kevin Bullis

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A uth will provide a concentrated hot spot. That hot spot needs to be big enough for the animal to fit it's body on, but small enough to allow for the snake to seek out cooler temps.

A standard 10 gallon aquarium measures roughly 20 by 10 inches. If your tank is that size, I would recommend an ultratherm or cobra heat pad (same thing) that measures 6 x 11 inches. That should give you a 6" strip of heat at one end of the tank.

As for placing it in or out of the tank - an ultratherm is laminated and can be placed in the tank. However this size is nominally wider than your tank so that may prove to be difficult.

The cobra mats also come in a 4x5 inch size. You could also buy two of those, mount them side by side, and provide an 8" wide strip which would neatly fit in the footprint of the tank.

Okay I think I got it now...all I have left is to start buying my goodies!!!

Kevin Bullis

Some people do put it under the substrate IN the tank, it stays more accurate, but youd always run the risk of the snake getting tangled in wires, moving the probe, or wetting the probe.. For me, because I've never been able to figure out how to put the thick fat probe between the UTH and the tank without breaking the UTH by bending it totally, I've put it in the tank, covered by some plastic and a sheet of newspaper so the snake will NEVER get to the wires or probes. And plastic shields it from getting wet and cooling down.