UTH Duct Tape

just a quick question,

My UTH doesn't seem to be heating the cage i have my ball in very well, so i was thinking to secure the edges of the uth to the bottom of the cage on the outside, has anyone done this before?

Thanks

You can tape the edges (outside the enclosure) with aluminum foil tape. HOWEVER, a UTH should NOT be expected to heat your enclosure. It should be used for a hotspot ONLY, not to raise low ambient temps.

I have only been using my UTH for about 4/5 weeks now...
my ambient temps are around 24-26c and my ball eats mostly every time I have fed him

But thanks for your reply

I do not have a big viv or anything like that.

I wouldn't use duct tape as it makes a huge mess. Aluminum foil tape is much better.

http://i1186.photobucket.com/albums/...s/IMG_0439.jpg

Just remember UTH's do not effect the air temperature in the cage. Only the surface temperatures.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

Just remember UTH's do not effect the air temperature in the cage. Only the surface temperatures.

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What do you use to heat your air temp, surface temp?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SRMD94

What do you use to heat your air temp, surface temp?

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In my PVC cages I use flexwatt (UTH) to provide a hot spot. (surface temp) because I live in such a warm place I very rarely have to increase the temperature of the air. When I do I use Radiant Heat Panels. These work great in enclosed cages, but don't work well in glass tanks or tubs. For glass tanks heat lamps and ceramic heat emitters are the best way to raise air temps, but have the nasty tendency to kill humidity. Tubs are the hardest to maintain air temps in because they are extremely dependent on the air temperature of the room they are in. Most people heat the room or at least part of a room. For a single tub I have seen some people rig a heat lamp so it is suspended over or is pointing at the tub to increase air temps. This will probably be the cheapest/easiest method for a small number of tubs.

http://rsreptilesupplies.co.uk/WebRo...ium_Medium.jpg

That is what i keep my ball in, and my room is mostly always warm and i have vents in my room if i want to make it cooler etc...

I would classify that as a tub.

I would attach a UTH to the underside that covers 1/3-1/2 of the area. This will provide the basking area/hot side temperature of 90 degrees. The rest of the cage/air should be kept as close to 80 degrees as possible. This can be accomplished by keeping the room close to 80 degrees or by suspending a low wattage heat bulb.

My biggest fear with that cage would be escape. Make sure you place something heavy on top to hold the lid in place. I have found that a brick on each corner works really well.

Ye I have just measured it the cool end is 80.4F :)

But the hot spot isn't going up and i have got the thermostat on the highest setting hopefully it will be increased, i have ordered some aluminium foil tape should arrive in 3 days hopefully, but my room is the hottest room in my house anyway.

Thanks for the replies :)

Thermometer says = 89.8F
Temp Gun says = 84.0F

I do, i put a book on one lid and the damp towel for humidity on the smaller lid :)

He has already escaped once, but there is no way out of getting out of my room.

So how is your UTH attached currently (if at all)?

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So how is your UTH attached currently (if at all)?

I have the uth with the thermostat probe, then i put the tub on top of the uth here is a pic i just took as best as i can:

Here is the gap between my tub and the uth, the black thing is the thermostat probe:
http://i50.tinypic.com/ei7fpk.jpg

Ok. Attaching it will help a lot. With plastic that thin and a substrate like paper towels you might even be able to set the thermostat to 90 and call it a day. The less a UTH has to heat through (air/plastic/substrate) the better (as long as it is regulated by a thermostat)

So when i get the tape, seal the edges, set the thermostat to 90 and see what happens, just annoying my thermometer saynig 89 and my temp gun saying 83 :/

But thanks for your help! :)

Yes you want the UTH making solid contact with the bottom of the cage.

Another thing to remember is that the thermometers/temp guns we use in the hobby (not lab grade equipment that costs $$$$$) usually has at least an error of +/- 2 degrees so when using 2 seperate devices the error compounds

for example say you have a digital thermometer that is reading 2 degrees over and a temp gun that is reading 2 degrees under. Both are working within the manufacturers specs, but you now have a 4 degree gap in your readings. In cases like that I usually will split the difference between the readings, or test it with my thermostat probe which is extremely accurate.

Ok thanks a lot for the help!

Very very appreciated Aaron!