I've never seen any such warning on UTH that specifically mentions the type of substrate NOT to use- what brand is the UTH? And what is the wattage? I've not tried all brands- I'm mostly a Flexwatt user but I've tried several others in the past. I've safely used Flexwatt for many snakes for decades- literally. That's not saying other brands aren't safe also.
I believe the warning has to do with flammability: https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/ja_zipperer003.pdf
As used for snakes, mulch seems a safe choice, especially with added humidity AND with glass interfacing, & I know of no one having a problem with it, OTHER than not enough heat rising thru the mulch when it's used too deeply. BUT: All UTH MUST be regulated with a thermostat (preferably) or a rheostat (may not work w/ all UTH) at the very minimum for SAFETY.
The most likely safety issue would be when people crank up the power to max out the UTH because not enough warmth is coming up thru the (too deep!) substrate. Then the heat builds up because deep substrate acts as an insulator- and your UTH can overheat & fail, or I suppose the excess heat could combust substrate? -but again, I've personally never heard of that happening-
Even more flammable than mulch is probably the paper shreds I use (over controlled UTH) & have used for decades...But paper shreds (usually mixed w/ Carefresh) have LOTS of air spaces thru which the heat rises. They just aren't good for snakes that need retained humidity, like BPs, which I don't keep.
Companies just don't want to be sued- it's like putting the warning on that hot cup of coffee, after being ridiculously sued by a clumsy patron spilling hot coffee on themselves. It's a common sense thing. Many things have such warnings nowadays- like "don't let your children eat the laundry detergent pods" & "don't slice your hand off with this meat slicer", etc.
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