UTH's and substrate

[quercus]

I have a UTH stuck to the bottom of my tank. My question is what should the temp be set at if there is substrate on top of the heat mat? I have a temp probe placed on top of the glass beneath the substrate that usually reads about 100 degrees, but if I feel the substrate with my hand its barely warm. Should I turn up the dimmer to heat the substrate better? I don't want to burn the snake.

There is about half an inch of repti bark over the heat mat. Should I use less substrate over the mat or add more repti bark and crank up the rheostat? I've seen the snake burrow or push away some substrate to get down to the glass.

I don't have a temp gun ATM, but plan on investing in one.

[Skittles1101]

I'd definitely get a temp gun, but I have my thermostat set to 92 but I use aspen. 100 is too hot because if your snakes moves the substrate and lays directly on the bottom he can get burned. I'd just try some trial and error, and turn it down a little until you get the temp gun.

[TheWinWizard]

Indeed, better to be a bit too cool then wind up with a burnt snake.

[PitOnTheProwl]

You dont want the surface that the snake can touch any hotter that 94 or 95 at max. So, yes you are running too hot as it is on the glass.

[gardenfiend138]

I have trouble with this, too. My tanks are raised about 1/4" above the heat pad, with the thermostat probe on the heat mat, but the mats are taped down to the stand, so there is a good 1/4" between the tank and the heat pad, and add in the 1-1.5" of substrate...it's tricky. I use a mixture of substrates that compact and can't be manipulated, and nestle my thermometer probe into the substrate so it's about .5" from the glass... I usually set the thermostat to about 97 or so, but it's been colder here lately so I have it up to 105, and it's now sitting at about 91 in the tank ( so it's slightly cooler on top of the substrate, where the snakes are).
Dunno if that will help you, but it definitely takes some tinkering...

[wny_luke]

I would take Leah's advice and get a temp gun to accurately measure the temps of your substrate surface. Using your hand is not accurate enough.

I was having the same problem in my tank and it was due to the ambient temps being too low. Here's my setup and how I dealt with it.

I have my thermostat probe between the UTH and the bottom of the tank glass and it's set to 96. I then have a digital thermometer probe run into the tank under the substrate resting on the glass over the UTH and it reads 92 - 93.

When I first setup the tank, my ambient temps were in the mid 60s and the surface of my substrate was in the 70s. I then picked up a ceramic heat emitter and a 8.5" lamp with built in rheostat and used that to bring my ambient temps up to 80. Once I did that my substrate surface temps fell in line.

So, things to consider - ambient temps, thickness of substrate, cover 3/4 of your screen lid to help hold in heat if you are not already doing so.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[SpottedBOA]

My suggestions is get rid of the substrate. I do not use it in mine and i keep my thermostat set at 92 degrees in the day and 90 at night works fine. Plus with the paper i use it is easier to clean up.

[SpiffyYoshi]

I agree that newspaper makes great substrate, but for glass vivs it's an aesthetic issue. I tried using newspaper in my viv and it was such an eyesore I couldn't stand it. If you aren't picky like me though, go for it!

[TheWinWizard]

Paper towels work fine as well. They look better then newspaper.

[kitedemon]

Your body temperature is likely around 98.6 so 100 is barely warm as said you cannot accurately tell temps with your hand. Also as stated the hottest place inside the enclosure should not exceed 94º and at that personally say 92 is the hottest given the variable accuracy or most temperature devices.

If you switch to paper towel watch out that if you feed in the enclosure a damp rat can stick to the paper towel. It is a freak accident but my vet last year did a surgery on someones snake to remove paper towel from its stomach. Keep an eye on that.

What substrate are you using? Some have greater insulating amounts than others. What hides do you have? Have you checked the temp INSIDE the hide. Often it will be 2 or 3 degrees more than the warm side substrate.