Couple heat related questions

[bkimura]

Hi Everyone,
My BP is presently housed in a 20G long. (30"x12"x12") He's about 9 months old. (not sure of length/weight) I'm currently using a Zoo Med 10-20 UTH at the warm end directly under his hide. The UTH is 6" x 8". Is this UTH large enough for my enclosure or should I be looking at the next size up? I do have the 8"x12" UTH at the cool end to help bring up the ambient temps. I'm wondering if it's recommended to swap hot/cold ends so that the larger UTH becomes the hot end. BTW, both UTH's are regulated with a thermostat/dimmer foil taped directly to the UTH.

Also, we live in a cold climate here in NH. In order to help with the ambient temps, I'm thinking about picking up a portable space heater for my daughter's room. What type of heater would you recommend? (ceramic, oil-filled, etc.) I do plan to purchase one with a built-in thermostat. I'm hoping I can set it to around 72 which should keep my tank ambient temps from falling below 75. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
- Bill

[Kaorte]

You want your hot side UTH to cover about 1/3 of the total floor area. I am bad at math but I think the 8x12 would be a better choice. I would definitely use the UTH for your hot side.

Most people who use space heaters recommend the oil filled ones. If you are willing, I would set the heater a little higher so you can shoot for that ambient temp of 80*. Maybe setting it at 75-77 would be better.

[Vypyrz]

I agree with using the larger UTH for your warm end. This past winter I had to use an electric space heater for my snake room. This year I will probably try to pick up a couple of the oil filled ones. I didn't really trust the built in thermostats, so I set up a Johnson for the heater. Since the heat rises, I set the heater on the floor next to the tubs and put the t-stat probe up next to my highest tub and set it for 82F. I also kept the ceiling fan on "low" speed to help circulate it a bit...

[bkimura]

Thanks guys. I had my wife help me rotate the tank 180 degrees as I wanted to keep my hot side on the right. I then moved my Herpstat probe from the 6"x8" UTH over to the 8"x12" UTH and swapped his hides. It wasn't long before he came out of his hide and moved over to the new hot side. (I don't presently have the 6"x8" UTH plugged in) I now need to un-glue the Acu-Rite temp probe and move it over to the new hot side. I'll do that later on this evening when my daughter gets home.

Trying to find a portable space heater this time of year in a retail store was next to impossible. I managed to track down a few options at our local Sears and decided to go with the following:
http://www.laskoproducts.com/heaters/model_760000.html
Seems to work really well and it has a digital thermostat. The ambient temp in the tank is at 76.3 presently. Not ideal but hopefully adequate. Unfortunately I can't raise the heat too much as it's my daughter's bedroom and I don't want to roast her out. Thanks again for your feedback.

- Bill

[DLoc]

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About what the under side of my tank looks like. (the --- is just empty space to make the forum show it the way I wanted. the ( ) is the UTH and the == is the glass edge.)
Then I attached my heater underneath, And I use a zoo-med, with a zoo-med thermostat placed over repti-carpet and 2 thermometers on each side and then about a quarter to a half inch of cypress mulch. All because the rheostat was too unstable to manage my paranoia. LOL. No cold or burned snakes for me please.