*URGENT* if you know anything about UTH's please read

Hello I have a 20 long tank with my BP currently in it, today I bought a UTH for 10-20 gallon tanks and stuck it on the bottom with about 2 -3 inches of substrate, I measured the temp of the glass and it was near 100, and also put the little sensor about half inch under the substrate and it's still reading 97... I have my thermometer on the lowest possible setting and its still very high.. Does anyone know why? I also have a light above but when I measured the temps the light was off. Any info?


I currently shut off the UTH and am using the light like I originally was, but how can I make it so the UTH actually works without burning my snake up?


Am I using the correct spot to measure the temps on the hot side? I had it on the side of the glass right above the substrate and it read 91

with that much substrate the UTH will over heat because the heat is not going all the way through thats why its getting so hot. you really need a thermostat that is the ONLY way to control the heat from those things. it might seem to be a lot of money but it the long run if you are going to keep balls its the best way to go.

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Originally Posted by FL0OD

with that much substrate the UTH will over heat because the heat is not going all the way through thats why its getting so hot. you really need a thermostat that is the ONLY way to control the heat from those things.

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I have one I had it virtually off, I turned off the UTH and have it with just the light and it is back to normal, but when you are measuring the temp of the hot side, wheres the best spot to place the probe at?

I'm assuming your using a rheostat to control your heater? I suggest using a thermostat such as a Helix, Johnson or Herpstat.

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Originally Posted by mtxsub7

I have one I had it virtually off, I turned off the UTH and have it with just the light and it is back to normal, but when you are measuring the temp of the hot side, wheres the best spot to place the probe at?

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A lot of people put the thermostat probe outside of the tank so the snake can't move it or urinate on it. I have mine on my heat lamp.

i would put it at the bottom or the thinest layer of the substrate. the only problem with that is if your animal gets cold he may borrow down to the glass. what kind of thermostat are you using? if its a dimmer or those rhenostats those never work. you need a thermostat. just do what you can for now and do not sweat it. its always okay to be a little to cool for a bit then to hot.

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Originally Posted by FL0OD

i would put it at the bottom or the thinest layer of the substrate. the only problem with that is if your animal gets cold he may borrow down to the glass. what kind of thermostat are you using? if its a dimmer or those rhenostats those never work. you need a thermostat

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yeah I have a rhetostat, I just don't have a way to buy a thermostat because I don't know of any stores that actually carry them. I will be able to buy one offline by the end of this week though I am getting my new debit card

I was doing fine before with just the light and the towel for humidity, should I just stick to that for now?

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Originally Posted by mtxsub7

Hello I have a 20 long tank with my BP currently in it, today I bought a UTH for 10-20 gallon tanks and stuck it on the bottom with about 2 -3 inches of substrate, I measured the temp of the glass and it was near 100, and also put the little sensor about half inch under the substrate and it's still reading 97... I have my thermometer on the lowest possible setting and its still very high.. Does anyone know why? I also have a light above but when I measured the temps the light was off. Any info?


I currently shut off the UTH and am using the light like I originally was, but how can I make it so the UTH actually works without burning my snake up?


Am I using the correct spot to measure the temps on the hot side? I had it on the side of the glass right above the substrate and it read 91

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Are you talking about your Acurite thermometer or a thermostat? For a UTH you *must* have a thermostat! As was earlier recommended, I agree that a Helix or Herpstat are terrific choices!!!

for what you are needing this would be great and if you decide to expand later you can use it with multiple UTH's or flexwatt tape. it does not cost a lot and works great. Rich is real nice. give him a call he can hook you up.

Agreed with Fl00d. Rich is fantastic and I've bought 2 thermostats from him. A Johnson as fl00d said and a Helix which is a Godsend. Both I recommend.

I took a bunch of substrate out, now I have probably an inch or so, just enough to cover the bottom, the ACU RITE sensor is under the substrate a little bit and I am going to give it a few minutes for the temp to go back to normal, I will just do what I have been doing until I can get the good thermostat. My house is always hot because I live in a cold area, but today my dad turned the heat off and thats when my temps dropped, so I'll get the thermostat you recommend as soon as I can, For now I am going to use what has been working for 2 weeks now.

I have a lamp dimmer attached to mine but then again I have a UTH for 10-15 gal and my tank is 20gal. I have a probe right on the glass where it is because my bp always moves the substrate under his hide until he is right on the glass. after a couple hours of plugging it in and checking often i can get a steady reading at 90 right on the glass so i know hes not too hot but I check mine alot. I wouldnt suggest the dimmer route if you aren't home often to check the temp just incase something changes.

Regardless of how much substrate you have in the tank you do not want the bottom glass surface getting over 95. You may think that because you have substrate over the UTH it will damper the heat but it won't. Your snake will burrow down in the substrate which is why you can't let the bottom surface get too hot. Even if the temp on top of the substrate reads 89 your snake will burrow down for additional heat if it needs it.

Here I go. I use the same stuff you do man and mine is 93 constantly on the hot side, 85 in the middle and 78 on the cool side. I check it 5 times a day using the rheostat. Sure you can spend 200 bucks on a real nice thermostat like a Helix or Ranco or Johnson and who's to say it's not a bad idea because yeah they are IDEAL but to say that a rheostat NEVER works... guess you've never tried because my temps have been PERFECT for the better part of 2.5 weeks and haven't wavered 1 degree... I have no idea why it got that hot. But I'm putting my 2 cents worth in because everyone is die hard into everyone going and buying a 150-200 dollar thermostat. Which is simply unrealistic for some people.

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Originally Posted by V1L3 DiaL3cT

Here I go. I use the same stuff you do man and mine is 93 constantly on the hot side, 85 in the middle and 78 on the cool side. I check it 5 times a day using the rheostat. Sure you can spend 200 bucks on a real nice thermostat like a Helix or Ranco or Johnson and who's to say it's not a bad idea because yeah they are IDEAL but to say that a rheostat NEVER works... guess you've never tried because my temps have been PERFECT for the better part of 2.5 weeks and haven't wavered 1 degree... I have no idea why it got that hot. But I'm putting my 2 cents worth in because everyone is die hard into everyone going and buying a 150-200 dollar thermostat. Which is simply unrealistic for some people.

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FYI: Herpstat, spyderrobotics.com, $109.00
Helix, reptilebasics.com, $134.99

I've seen the prices. I know how much stuff is... when you're a laid off General Motors employee you have A LOT of time. I just offered my 2 cents I'm not stepping on anyones toes just giving opinions from my personal experience.

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Originally Posted by V1L3 DiaL3cT

I've seen the prices. I know how much stuff is... when you're a laid off General Motors employee you have A LOT of time. I just offered my 2 cents I'm not stepping on anyones toes just giving opinions from my personal experience.

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I only thought maybe you and perhaps other posters might not be aware of the true prices of these t'stats!! :D

No problem. Just frustrated with some stuff I see on here and finally needed to snap.

I made things work with a rheostat for awhile.. in fact nearly six months. unfortunately i never had stable temps. It would fluctuate a degree or so but if G*d forbid anyone touched the little tab that controls temps i would be on egg shells in fear of my temps spiking... thankfully we never had a problem but I know now with having a thermostat I no longer worry about that accident waiting to happen. my thermostat will shut off should the temps go above a certain degree (That i get to set) while some people can make things work using less it isnt ideal. IMPO if you cant afford to get proper equipment (im not saying in a day, but within reasonable time span) then you have no business having the animal. what happens if an unforeseen event happens (illness for instance, or burning because of faulty equipment) can you afford to get your animal to the vet?

I hope you can get those temps under control soon

it is possible to successfully manage temps with a UTH and a rheostat. not as accurate as a thermostat but possible. when i first started keeping balls i used heat lamps on tanks and i would manage the temps by using an appropriate wattage red bulb placed directly on the lid or raised a little higher to warm or cool the tank. i never used UTHs because i got proper ambient temps with heat bulbs alone.

enough about me..:rolleyes:

if you want to use a rheostat on the UTH then youre going to need a few thermometers. you need to place the probe of the first thermometer directly on the glass over top the UTH. this way you know the exact temp that your snake may come in contact with if he burrows under the substrate. i would use a thinner layer of substrate just so that i know exactly what temp my snake is sitting on when hes on the hot side. then you need a probe to measure the ambient temps of the warm and cool side. some people place those under each hide but you can also place them on the substrate on each side.

if you can get the UTH thermometer at 89-92 and the warm and cool side thermometers at anywhere from 80-85 then youre chillin!

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Originally Posted by mtxsub7

I took a bunch of substrate out, now I have probably an inch or so, just enough to cover the bottom, the ACU RITE sensor is under the substrate a little bit and I am going to give it a few minutes for the temp to go back to normal, I will just do what I have been doing until I can get the good thermostat. My house is always hot because I live in a cold area, but today my dad turned the heat off and thats when my temps dropped, so I'll get the thermostat you recommend as soon as I can, For now I am going to use what has been working for 2 weeks now.

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I didn't see this mentioned anywhere, do you have the tank raised off of the surface so there is air flow to the UTH? That should help with the temperature control.

I like to have my thermostat/rheostat probe on the actual UTH, between it and the glass. Then I have the accurite thermometer probe on the inside of the hot hide, on top of the substrate measuring the heat there.

There have been some people that place down repti carpet or a towel on the glass, before they put down a substrate like aspen or coconut fiber. They place the accurite probe on top of the carpet or towel or better yet, the substrate and measure the hot spot that way.

I had to hot glue my wires to the side of the tank and it worked really well.

Another idea is to put the UTH to the side of the tank to heat the ambient temps without risking a burn to the belly of the snake.

Just some ideas, keep us posted. :)

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

I didn't see this mentioned anywhere, do you have the tank raised off of the surface so there is air flow to the UTH? That should help with the temperature control.

I like to have my thermostat/rheostat probe on the actual UTH, between it and the glass. Then I have the accurite thermometer probe on the inside of the hot hide, on top of the substrate measuring the heat there.

There have been some people that place down repti carpet or a towel on the glass, before they put down a substrate like aspen or coconut fiber. They place the accurite probe on top of the carpet or towel or better yet, the substrate and measure the hot spot that way.

I had to hot glue my wires to the side of the tank and it worked really well.

Another idea is to put the UTH to the side of the tank to heat the ambient temps without risking a burn to the belly of the snake.

Just some ideas, keep us posted. :)

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Well I unplugged the UTH and haven't used it since, I am using my original idea, Just a light and a keep humidity/temps pretty much perfect with it, but I was aiming for a bit more belly heat. I am waiting til I get a thermostat before I plug that back in, and yes I have it elavated

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Originally Posted by mtxsub7

Well I unplugged the UTH and haven't used it since, I am using my original idea, Just a light and a keep humidity/temps pretty much perfect with it, but I was aiming for a bit more belly heat. I am waiting til I get a thermostat before I plug that back in, and yes I have it elavated

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Hey there! Have you looked at Ultratherm UTH's? Rich (Reptile Basics) has it on his site and says that they are such low wattage that they can be used without a t'stat. Maybe it's worth a call or email to him, describe your set-up, and see if that might work... Just a thought...

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Originally Posted by mtxsub7

Well I unplugged the UTH and haven't used it since, I am using my original idea, Just a light and a keep humidity/temps pretty much perfect with it, but I was aiming for a bit more belly heat. I am waiting til I get a thermostat before I plug that back in, and yes I have it elavated

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I had the same problems you're having with my UTH when I first set it to test out the new enclosure before bringing her home... I was using pretty much the same UTH as you, except a PVC Viv similar to Animal Basics... Here's what I learned from a week of monitoring it: It's crap. It would heat unevenly, patches would be 3-5 degrees hotter than others, it was a pain in the neck to regulate at all... Even after hooking it up to my herpstat later, it was a pain, never stayed constant, and was more trouble than it was worth.

I was lucky and was given some flexwatt along with my BP, it heats evenly (except when I knocked a clip off centre while moving, which was easily fixed) reliably and pairs wonderfully with my herpstat. For awhile I was using both the flex watt and the UTH on the same herpstat, the UTH would heat unevely as all heck, but would at least stay about 5 degrees cooler than the flexwatt to allow a bigger temp gradient...

All in all, I wouldn't recommend them.

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Originally Posted by starmom

Hey there! Have you looked at Ultratherm UTH's? Rich (Reptile Basics) has it on his site and says that they are such low wattage that they can be used without a t'stat. Maybe it's worth a call or email to him, describe your set-up, and see if that might work... Just a thought...

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OH... And regarding the Ultratherms... Here is what put them out for me (from bean farm) as I also considered them:

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Originally Posted by beanfarm

because of low wattage, to stay between 65 and 95F (depending on exterior temperature) thereby eliminating the need for a thermostat. However, if precise temperatures need to be achieved, use in combination with a proportional thermostat or a dimmer.

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Basically meaning, they are dependant on the temps of your house, sure, they shouldn't get over 95 when plugged into the wall, but that doesn't mean they'll get anywhere near the 90 or so you're going to need.

Hi,

Those ultratherms are the type we have available over here (the ONLY type :( ) and they are the reason I couldn't have a rack without ordering flexwatt all the way from america.:taz:

They can only boost ambient by about 10 degrees so in a cold home they are basically useless for BP's hot end temps.


dr del