Is my under the tank heater too big?

[Arcapello]

So, I have a 22 gallon enclosure (if I did the math right- It's 24"x18"x12"), and I bought a ZooMed UTH that was for 10-20g enclosures. It was way too small (barely covered 1/4 of the enclosure) so I returned it, and got one for a 30-40g, and currently have it stuck on. I have it turned on, so I could see what it would heat to, and I'm planning to get a thermostat for it, but in your opinion is it too big/strong, or will it be okay? It covers about 1/3 to 1/2.

The instructions/warning packet for the UTH says that if water gets spilled over where the UTH is, it could cause cracks. Is this true? Should I be worried? I have a large water bowl on the other side (I know I only need a small one, but it's to keep the humidity up). I'm using about an inch of aspen bedding.

Also, the cold side is around 76-78. Will that be okay?

I'm getting my first snake (a ball python) soon, so I'm trying to get everything correct before I do.

[Kaorte]

If water spills on it and it is on full blast, I think it could possibly crack the glass if the water is cold enough. I haven't really heard of this happening though. I like to keep my water bowls on the heat a little bit to help produce some humidity. This also heats up the water so if it spills, it shouldn't crack the glass.

I don't think the size is too bad as long as you have an area that cooler so the snake can thermoregulate.

Get that thermostat ASAP! It is the most important part of a setup. It is too bad the UTH instructions don't tell you that you need one!

Cool side sounds fine as long as you get a surface hot spot of 90º

Also remember that your thermometers have a big impact on what temp you think it is. If you are using Digital thermometers with a probe then you are good to go. If they are analog thermometers, you will probably want to exchange them. Make sure the thermometers are where the snake spends its time, on the bottom of the enclosure. I see so many people come in with those stick on gauges at the top of the tank, what good are they al the way up there? lol

Kudos to you for getting things set up before you get the snake!

[Arcapello]

If water spills on it and it is on full blast, I think it could possibly crack the glass if the water is cold enough. I haven't really heard of this happening though. I like to keep my water bowls on the heat a little bit to help produce some humidity. This also heats up the water so if it spills, it shouldn't crack the glass.

I don't think the size is too bad as long as you have an area that cooler so the snake can thermoregulate.

Get that thermostat ASAP! It is the most important part of a setup. It is too bad the UTH instructions don't tell you that you need one!

Cool side sounds fine as long as you get a surface hot spot of 90º

Also remember that your thermometers have a big impact on what temp you think it is. If you are using Digital thermometers with a probe then you are good to go. If they are analog thermometers, you will probably want to exchange them. Make sure the thermometers are where the snake spends its time, on the bottom of the enclosure. I see so many people come in with those stick on gauges at the top of the tank, what good are they al the way up there? lol

Kudos to you for getting things set up before you get the snake!

I have an Acurite thermometer with a probe (the one that tracks indoor/outdoor temps, and humidity). The probe is stuck to the glass on the bottom, right above the UTH and the rest is on the cold side.

I only have places like Petsmart, Petco and Walmart available, online shipping isn't really an option for me. Do you think I could get a working thermostat from somewhere like Petco or Walmart?

Glad to know that the water bowl is safe. The instructions said not to put it over the UTH, but I've also read that it helps with humidity. Should I try misting with warm water to raise the humidity?
Also, I still need to get my two hides. What size should I get? (I haven't gotten them yet, because I wasn't sure of size)

[snakesRkewl]

Petsmarts here sell reptitemp 500R for about $45, only $25-$25 online.

I keep water bowls over the uth only when the snake is in shed, as long as the uth is being controlled by the thermostat it's ok to do, but not until it's controlled.
Some people mist tanks, my thoughts on that are that it causes a constant up and down in humidity, not good imo.

Have you covered a good portion of the top to help hold in heat and humidity?
Do you have any over head heat?

tank sizes...
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aq...zesweights.htm

[patientz3ro]

I honestly think you would have been fine with the original UTH, but you might be able to get away with the one you're now stuck with (pun intended) ASSUMING you put some kind of thermostat on there ASAP. Also, just to clarify what Kaorte said, that 90^o hot spot should be on the warm side of the tank. If you understood that, feel free to disregard my clarification.

FYI, that whole cold water cracking hot glass thing... yep, it's true. I don't recommend testing it by tossing some hot water on a frosty windshield either. Just sayin'. Glass is actually not a solid, it's a super stable liquid. Like any liquid, it expands and contracts with temperature changes. When the temperature changes too fast, it cracks. Pour some hot tea over ice cubes and you'll get the same effect. And yes, I did just go full nerd.

[Arcapello]

I honestly think you would have been fine with the original UTH, but you might be able to get away with the one you're now stuck with (pun intended) ASSUMING you put some kind of thermostat on there ASAP. Also, just to clarify what Kaorte said, that 90^o hot spot should be on the warm side of the tank. If you understood that, feel free to disregard my clarification.

FYI, that whole cold water cracking hot glass thing... yep, it's true. I don't recommend testing it by tossing some hot water on a frosty windshield either. Just sayin'. Glass is actually not a solid, it's a super stable liquid. Like any liquid, it expands and contracts with temperature changes. When the temperature changes too fast, it cracks. Pour some hot tea over ice cubes and you'll get the same effect. And yes, I did just go full nerd.

Yeah, I got the cold side/hot side thing The cold side is 75-78, and the hot side is currently like 98, so it needs to go way down. I'm going to get a thermostat today.

- - - Updated - - -

Petsmarts here sell reptitemp 500R for about $45, only $25-$25 online.

I keep water bowls over the uth only when the snake is in shed, as long as the uth is being controlled by the thermostat it's ok to do, but not until it's controlled.
Some people mist tanks, my thoughts on that are that it causes a constant up and down in humidity, not good imo.

Have you covered a good portion of the top to help hold in heat and humidity?
Do you have any over head heat?

tank sizes...
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aq...zesweights.htm

I haven't covered any of the top yet, I thought I'd get a thermostat, and then cover maybe 1/3 of the top on the cold side?
The humidity is only at 35% right now, but once I get the temperature right, I'll work on that. I have a large bowl of room temperature water on the cold side.
I'm not using a heat lamp, or any other form of overhead heat.
And I have an Exo Terra, and it's about 22gal, or 24"x18". It's about a foot tall. I know I shouldn't use a screen top, but in the area I live in, it's either a fish aquarium or a terrarium, so I thought if I covered maybe half of the screen it would be okay, because it also has side ventilation.

[patientz3ro]

Exo Terra makes a tank top light hood that will cover at least half the top of that enclosure. It takes three 25watt bulbs and has two switches for day/night cycling. I got mine from LLL Reptile for about $30. It'll help out quite a bit with that humidity.

[VooDooDoc]

I just cut pieces of plexi glass to cover the screen top of my Exoterra tank. Holds in humidity just fine. Well I leave part of it open where the heat lamps are.

[Arcapello]

I'm not using heat lamps.

[VooDooDoc]

I'm not using heat lamps.

The UTH will not keep your ambient temps up so unless you have a room where its 80 degrees year round you might want to think about adding something.