*URGENT* if you know anything about UTH's please read

[mtxsub7]

I took a bunch of substrate out, now I have probably an inch or so, just enough to cover the bottom, the ACU RITE sensor is under the substrate a little bit and I am going to give it a few minutes for the temp to go back to normal, I will just do what I have been doing until I can get the good thermostat. My house is always hot because I live in a cold area, but today my dad turned the heat off and thats when my temps dropped, so I'll get the thermostat you recommend as soon as I can, For now I am going to use what has been working for 2 weeks now.

[missi182]

I have a lamp dimmer attached to mine but then again I have a UTH for 10-15 gal and my tank is 20gal. I have a probe right on the glass where it is because my bp always moves the substrate under his hide until he is right on the glass. after a couple hours of plugging it in and checking often i can get a steady reading at 90 right on the glass so i know hes not too hot but I check mine alot. I wouldnt suggest the dimmer route if you aren't home often to check the temp just incase something changes.

[BostonMacK]

Regardless of how much substrate you have in the tank you do not want the bottom glass surface getting over 95. You may think that because you have substrate over the UTH it will damper the heat but it won't. Your snake will burrow down in the substrate which is why you can't let the bottom surface get too hot. Even if the temp on top of the substrate reads 89 your snake will burrow down for additional heat if it needs it.

[BMorrison]

Here I go. I use the same stuff you do man and mine is 93 constantly on the hot side, 85 in the middle and 78 on the cool side. I check it 5 times a day using the rheostat. Sure you can spend 200 bucks on a real nice thermostat like a Helix or Ranco or Johnson and who's to say it's not a bad idea because yeah they are IDEAL but to say that a rheostat NEVER works... guess you've never tried because my temps have been PERFECT for the better part of 2.5 weeks and haven't wavered 1 degree... I have no idea why it got that hot. But I'm putting my 2 cents worth in because everyone is die hard into everyone going and buying a 150-200 dollar thermostat. Which is simply unrealistic for some people.

[starmom]

Here I go. I use the same stuff you do man and mine is 93 constantly on the hot side, 85 in the middle and 78 on the cool side. I check it 5 times a day using the rheostat. Sure you can spend 200 bucks on a real nice thermostat like a Helix or Ranco or Johnson and who's to say it's not a bad idea because yeah they are IDEAL but to say that a rheostat NEVER works... guess you've never tried because my temps have been PERFECT for the better part of 2.5 weeks and haven't wavered 1 degree... I have no idea why it got that hot. But I'm putting my 2 cents worth in because everyone is die hard into everyone going and buying a 150-200 dollar thermostat. Which is simply unrealistic for some people.

FYI: Herpstat, spyderrobotics.com, $109.00
Helix, reptilebasics.com, $134.99

[BMorrison]

I've seen the prices. I know how much stuff is... when you're a laid off General Motors employee you have A LOT of time. I just offered my 2 cents I'm not stepping on anyones toes just giving opinions from my personal experience.

[starmom]

I've seen the prices. I know how much stuff is... when you're a laid off General Motors employee you have A LOT of time. I just offered my 2 cents I'm not stepping on anyones toes just giving opinions from my personal experience.

I only thought maybe you and perhaps other posters might not be aware of the true prices of these t'stats!!

[BMorrison]

No problem. Just frustrated with some stuff I see on here and finally needed to snap.

[ADEE]

I made things work with a rheostat for awhile.. in fact nearly six months. unfortunately i never had stable temps. It would fluctuate a degree or so but if G*d forbid anyone touched the little tab that controls temps i would be on egg shells in fear of my temps spiking... thankfully we never had a problem but I know now with having a thermostat I no longer worry about that accident waiting to happen. my thermostat will shut off should the temps go above a certain degree (That i get to set) while some people can make things work using less it isnt ideal. IMPO if you cant afford to get proper equipment (im not saying in a day, but within reasonable time span) then you have no business having the animal. what happens if an unforeseen event happens (illness for instance, or burning because of faulty equipment) can you afford to get your animal to the vet?

I hope you can get those temps under control soon

[bigballs]

it is possible to successfully manage temps with a UTH and a rheostat. not as accurate as a thermostat but possible. when i first started keeping balls i used heat lamps on tanks and i would manage the temps by using an appropriate wattage red bulb placed directly on the lid or raised a little higher to warm or cool the tank. i never used UTHs because i got proper ambient temps with heat bulbs alone.

enough about me..

if you want to use a rheostat on the UTH then youre going to need a few thermometers. you need to place the probe of the first thermometer directly on the glass over top the UTH. this way you know the exact temp that your snake may come in contact with if he burrows under the substrate. i would use a thinner layer of substrate just so that i know exactly what temp my snake is sitting on when hes on the hot side. then you need a probe to measure the ambient temps of the warm and cool side. some people place those under each hide but you can also place them on the substrate on each side.

if you can get the UTH thermometer at 89-92 and the warm and cool side thermometers at anywhere from 80-85 then youre chillin!