Do you need a thermostat for a Zoo-Med UTH?

Zoo-Junk... Get yourself a Ultratherm Heat Pad, and a quality T-Stat and be done :)

I have never found zoo med to run unregulated under 110º and mine run in max temp tests well over 120º. There are UTH on the market that simply do not run so hot 100º kane (some kane uth come with built in rheostats for that matter) and ultratherms for example. Do they still need to be regulated? YES they do!! Are they safer if the tstat fails YES they are, much. If the temp stays at or below 100º you simply will not burn the snake or melt a tub, it just will not happen.

The truth is simple temps much above 94º the snake cannot digest food properly and will stop eating due to this. The idea is to provide a proper gradient but this is not easy. Few, very few manage a real gradient, most of us have a warm area that the temp falls sharply from to a cool temp not a slow even transition. If your warm area is too warm it makes thermo regulation difficult as switching sides frequently would be needed but few snakes change that much.

I have the same thing and I think it depends on how thick and what type substrate you have. The pad is getting the glass that hot nut the substrate is going to act like an insulator. Unless your snake is burrowing through the substrate to the glass I would think the temp you are getting with the gun is accurate. I don't have a thermometer on mine (after reading all the threads I will be getting one), but I can't get temps high enough as it is. There is also the question of surface temp vs ambient air temp and i agree it gets confusing on what the right set up is. This forum is definitely more helpful than anyone in any pet store has ever been that's for sure. Good Luck.

If unregulated, mine will heat the glass to 110 and my snake will push all substrate aside to get there, probably because the ambient temp is so chilly. Counting down the days till it, the dimmer, and the glass tank are just a memory.