UTH Smelling Odd

Hello. I am a new snake owner and at a local reptile expo I bought my first snake, a lemonblast ball python. The breeder I bought her from included her tub with her. I didn't have a rack or any of that special stuff. He told me to either buy some heat tape or a heat pad. I bought the mini Zoo Med UTH. I stuck it to the bottom of my tub (as it said not to leave the paper on there). It also doesn't stick very well at all. I recently noticed an odd smell coming from the bottom of the tub. I also did read from somewhere that there are toxic chemicals from plastic that come from the tub if you put a UTH on. I got awfully concerned, not only from my snake, but for myself and family. It's hooked up to a Jump Start thermostat at 91F.
What should I do? I am awfully concerned and somewhat frightened. Thanks.

Those heat mats don't stick very well to plastic tubs. When I've used them, I stuck them to a piece of wood or glass. A regulated heat mat shouldn't be getting anywhere near hot enough to burn wood, or any other surface you're placing the tub on.

I taped my thermostat probe to the top of the mat with electrical tape, and then set the tub down on top. Tubs are a lot easier to swap out and clean without a heat mat stuck on the bottom!

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How is the tstat hooked up?

I don't see any reason for it to smell unless things are getting to hot.

That is the smell of "new" heating up. The plastic and adhesive of the UTH heating for the first time will cause that smell. The smell will wane in a very short time.

Where is the thermostat probe and what is the actual temperature of the tub floor under whatever substrate you are using?

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Originally Posted by KMG

How is the tstat hooked up?I don't see any reason for it to smell unless things are getting to hot.

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My probe is underneath the heatpad. And my thermostat (JumpStart) is set at 91F.

The probe should be between the heat mat and the bottom of the tub, otherwise the air around the probe will keep it too cool. That smell may be the plastic overheating.

So what is the ACTUAL temperature of the flood of the tub?
Dont care what your thermostat is showing or set to, that may not be the temperature of the enclosure.

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Originally Posted by Kitkat0603

My probe is underneath the heatpad. And my thermostat (JumpStart) is set at 91F.

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Get a $19 lazer temp gun at a place like Harbor Freight or Lowes to check the tub floor inside. I put Tin (metal tape) on my sticky side of UTH's and then Tape them with it also to the underside of the enclosures. Then you can also peel them off and use them on a bigger enclosure in the future without ruining them. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...f661a71256.png

The temperature of the hotspot is at 88F, I checked using the Etekcity infrared thermometer. The smell has faded away and it is mere impossible to smell it anymore. Thank you all for your help! I do also have one more question. Should I cover the bottom of the UTH with foil tape? I've seen a few reptile youtuber's heat mats covered with foil tape. Is it safe and would it be better?

You want to stick the foil tape to the heat mat, glue side to glue side. It makes them easy to move to other enclosures.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

You want to stick the foil tape to the heat mat, glue side to glue side. It makes them easy to move to other enclosures.

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Okay! Thank you so much!

You can actually just stick regular foil to the sticky part of the uth. It's already sticky so cheap foil will do the trick. However, if it's already stuck on there just leave it. You can damage them when you remove it by braking the small heat coils inside.

To attach it to the tank floor many people, including me, use foil tape.