Quote Originally Posted by Aerial View Post
can you tell me some more about the "UTH and Thermostat combo"? i mean, whats a good kind/brand and where do i buy one?

i measure heat with a stick-on thermometer, which looks pretty accurate to me but what do i know...

substrate is newspaper which i replace weekly or if it gets wet/soiled.

again, thanks for all the info guys. i did a lot of research but couldn't find much on this particular stuff
A thermostat is something that controls the temperature of an object. In your house, it is the temperature of the air, but with reptiles, it is the temperature of the heat mat. When left unregulated, a UTH can heat up to dangerously high levels. A thermostat is put in place to keep the UTH from getting to these dangerous levels.

The stick on thermometers are actually well known for being INaccurate. I would recommend buying the accurite digital weather station with indoor and outdoor thermometer and hygrometer. It is the only unit you will need for a single setup. It allows you to monitor the temp of the UTH with the external probe, the ambient air temperatures, and the ambient humidity. It is sold at the home depot, lowes, and walmart for around $11.

As for thermostats and heat mats. I prefer the zoomed heat pads for individual setups and the reptitemp 500r thermostat to control it.