Quote Originally Posted by johnmauser View Post
The sticky heat pads I have used in the past have had a paper of some type covering the sticky side. I might be a little concerned about leaving the paper on there, just wondering if that could be a fire hazzard. My personal opinion would be to just stick it on without foil tape, and if you can't pull it off and re-use it later, then just buy a new one. Or you could just purchase a non sticky heatpad and tape it.
Paper ignites at 451 degrees fahrenheit, I sure hope the UTH is not getting that hot! Not many substances ignite at around 90 degrees, which is why we use thermostats to regulate the UTHs.

IMO you can use foil tape if you like. There is more of a fire hazard if you have to remove the UTH after sticking it and you cause a short of some sort inside it. It can also cause hot spots in the tank. Or, you can just stick it and buy a new one if you need to like ^^^ said.

Like LL said, wait 5-7 days from the time you got her to attempt feeding (I have a higher success rate when I wait). Once she eats, wait two days before handling. The thermometer probe should be inside the enclosure. Thermostat probes are meant to read and regulate the heat source itself, which is why they should be secured to the UTH, and thermometer probes are meant to read the temp inside the tank, which is why it should be secured (with hot glue) inside the tank on the center of the hot spot. Your thermostat can be set at 90 degrees and it could be much hotter or colder inside the tank, how will you know if the thermometer is not reading it? Congrats on your new snake