UTHs (the common abbreviation for Under Tank Heater), are one of the ball pyhton habitat's must-haves. Being small, usually adhesive, heat pads, they are excellent for providing a "hot spot" on the bottom of the tank for pythons to get tummy warmth, since they aren't snakes that bask for warmth
There is another component that MUST be purchased to use with a uth: a thermostat. Uth can heat to temps well over 100 degrees, with reports of them running at 150 degrees! Temperatures like this will burn your snake, and some of these burns can be life threatening. A thermostat, in this application, has an outlet for plugging the heat source into, and a dial or digital screen for setting the cut-off temperature. Some thermostats work as a "dimmer," regulating the heat without simply turning the uth on and off each time. Either way, you NEED some kind of thermostat as a partner to your uth. Without it, your snake could be severely injured.
The following pictures are of a snake that was burned and neglected to receive any kind of treatment for three weeks. This snake has been rescued, but its future is still uncertain. Please, control that uth!
(PS: a thermoSTAT is not the same as a thermoMETER. A thermostat controls heat, a thermometer measures heat. More about the differences can be found in several other posts on this site.)
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