Uth frustration!!!!!

[Morris Reese]

I need some advise guys!

So, I got my cage set up....
No snake yet, so I've got time!
I have a 20L With a small UTH.
I plugged it up, just for kicks and guess what? You can't put your hand on the bottom of the cage for more than 5 seconds. I pretty much knew that would be the case.

So, back to the store I go and this is what I came home with.



Is this ok for a temporary fix?

I have read the instructions and saw on the internet on how to set it up.
This is where the frustration comes in!

Do I put the probe inside on the bottom under the substrate or do I put it outside on the bottom between the glass and heat mat?
I am seeing it both ways and want to know opinions on which is best.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Do I put the probe inside on the bottom under the substrate or do I put it outside on the bottom between the glass and heat mat?
I am seeing it both ways and want to know opinions on which is best.

Directly on the heat source not in the enclosure.

[jclaiborne]

UTH's almost always need TSTATs, in my experience esp with a glass tank as I have had tanks crack from unregulated heat. That will work fine. I keep one for backup and have one plugged into the heat mat on my dubia colony as well. best thing that you can do IMO is tape it to the bottom of the heat mat OUTSIDE the tank and dial it in that way. I have run TSTATs inside the cage as well to see which one is more accurate and to be honest if done correctly either one works fine, but it is a lot easier to just attach it outside the enclosure. Tape it (i use kapton tape, but alum tape works well too) and dial it in with a temp gun and you should be good to go.

[Morris Reese]

Directly on the heat source not in the enclosure.

90 degrees, correct?

[The Serpent Merchant]

90 degrees, correct?

The hot side of the cage should be between 88-92 F, You will a have to set the thermostat a little higher to achieve that usually. (This is where a good probed thermometer comes in)

For example I have to set one of my thermostats to 96 F to get the inside of the cage to 90 F.

I should say this is only the case if you have your thermostat probe on the outside of the cage attached directly to the heat source. If the thermostat probe is inside the cage then you would set the thermostat to the desired temperature (90 F).

[Slim]

Always put the probe on the heat source, then measure your temps where the snake is. You will always need to run your thermostat higher in order to achieve the proper temp where the snake is.

[Morris Reese]

Thanks for all the comments.
Very helpful!!
I have it installed and doing my adjustments. I have the TSTAT set at around 98 and the floor temp inside is 92. I may back it down just a little. I have the ambient temp at 88 on the warm side and about 79 on the cool side. The humidity is at 48 but I think it will start to rise now that I have the temps set.
I'm not sure about the night temps but will be starting those in just a bit now that I have the daytime set.
BETTER HURRY!! I'm picking up my little girl from Albey on Sunday!!

[Stewart_Reptiles]

90 degrees, correct?

I like to keep mine a little cooler around 88 but 90 is fine. You will have to see for yourself how to set your t-stat to achieve your ideal temps inside your enclosure.

Depending on the enclosure, t-stat, making of the UTH, etc your setting will be different then mine which is why you need to test until you achieve optimal temp.

[Coopers Constrictors]

Put the probe between the glass and heat mat. 90-91 will do the trick for them. The stat will probably need to be set to around 94-95. That stat, specifically, is definitely a temporary fix, and those will (more times than not) fail in a short period of time. Save up for a nice Helix, Vivarium, or Herpstat and you will be rockin!