Uth?

[Punk's Girl]

I'm looking into UTH, but I have a few things I'm not sure about. I have a 55gal. tank. I've been using an over the tank white light. It keeps the tank warm and the humidity at about 60%. I just hate the look. I know that BP like having a cool side and a warm side.

1. Should I buy one that is smaller than my tank to keep a cool side and warm side?
2. Will it keep the humidity where it should be? Or should I add something?
3. What about the lighting cycle? Or is my everyday lighting enough?
4. I use newspaper as her bedding. Is this safe to use? I don't want her to burn her belly.
5. My tank is on a stand and there is about 3 inch space between the bottom of the tank and the top of the stand. Do I need to raise the tank a little for air flow? Or can I put a few holes in the top of the stand?

[Elise.m]

I'm looking into UTH, but I have a few things I'm not sure about. I have a 55gal. tank. I've been using an over the tank white light. It keeps the tank warm and the humidity at about 60%. I just hate the look. I know that BP like having a cool side and a warm side.

1. Should I buy one that is smaller than my tank to keep a cool side and warm side?
2. Will it keep the humidity where it should be? Or should I add something?
3. What about the lighting cycle? Or is my everyday lighting enough?
4. I use newspaper as her bedding. Is this safe to use? I don't want her to burn her belly.
5. My tank is on a stand and there is about 3 inch space between the bottom of the tank and the top of the stand. Do I need to raise the tank a little for air flow? Or can I put a few holes in the top of the stand?

1. They have UTHs for the size of the tank, so just buy one that's in your tank range.
2. It will keep the humidity higher than your lamp does. Lamps suck humidity right out.
3. BPs don't need any light. Mine are in a dark room unless I'm in there, and they're fine.
4. Newspaper is safe. I would put a few layers down just to be safe. But your UTH shouldn't be hot enough to burn her anyhow.
5. The UTH will come with little rubber footies. You can put these on the stand, or on the bottom of the tank to raise it up a little bit if you want to.

Also, when you get the UTH make sure you get a lamp dimmer or a Thermostat to control it. Uncontrolled, they can get up to 130* and your snake will get a nasty burn.

[bman123]

The uth comes with spacers, you put 1 in each corner of the tank. That will provide adequate airflow. Cover 2/3s of the top of the tank. That will keep your temps up on the cool side plus you will hold humidity better.
Please buy a t stat, I know they are expensive but they are worth every penny. I used a dimmer and had temp fluctuations between 92 to 100 degrees.

The t stat is worth it's weight in gold. You can use flex watt for heat and its way cheaper then a uth. Like $4 for a 1 ft long piece piece. I know a medium uth is $17 or more.

Why dont you switch to a sterilite tub? It is super cheap, easier to clean, and easier to manage temps/humidity.

[Elise.m]

There are cheap Thermostats, like the Repti-temp 500R. I currently use two of them, and love it. Takes a little tweaking, but after that you're golden. I also use a Dimmer on one of my tubs, and hardly ever touch it. It also took tweaking, but alot more than the Thermostat.

The Repti-temp 500R thermostats run for about $25. You can find them online, I used google's shopping search and found mine. Or, you can find them and UTHs at reptile shows.

[seeya205]

I use and love the reptitemp 500R too! I got mine at a show for $20!

[Vypyrz]

I have found that using a UTH that covers about 1/3 to 1/2 of the floor space works fine. You can tape it to the bottom of your tank with aluminum tape which makes it easier to remove if you need to. Some UTH's have a peel off backing that you can remove to stick them on. I would recommend just leaving the backing on and using tape. Also, some UTH's don't come with risers so if you need to create a gap under the tank (1/2 to 1 inch will be fine) you can go to an arts and crafts store like Michael's, look in the wood crafts section and you will find several different styles and sizes of wooden knobs, pegs and discs that you can hot glue to the bottom of the tank as risers. You shouldn't really need to change substrate unless you want to, but as the others have said, a thermostat will definitely make is easier for you and safer for your snake. I like the Ranco thermostats and that is what I use...

[seeya205]

You can those rubber stick on knobs from any hardware store!

[bman123]

I havent used a 500r but I heard they were a glorified dimmer. If it works for ya then great. I'd rather invest in a johnson or ranco tho.

[Elise.m]

They're FAR from a glorified dimmer. In fact, they're the complete opposite from a dimmer since they turn on and shut off the UTH. Where as the dimmer keeps the UTH on at all times, and the temp will fluctuate within 10*