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Repti-therm under tank heater, under or side?

For cornsnakes many prefer to put it under. They need belly heat to aid in digestion.

Also, it is preferred to use a rheostat or thermostat to regulate the temp.
 
Hi. I thought so too regarding under tank mounting, but the glass seems to get REALLY hot to my touch, and she likes to burrow well under the aspen, it's too hot for my skin to want to linger on so I'm worried about burning her.
I have two of the repti-therm pads and both seem to get the same amount of 'hotness' so I dont think it's a defective product.
The brochure DOES say they recommend side mounting but I ignored that assuming bottom was best til I felt both of them and ouch!
 
I do not have a thermostat or a rheostat( what IS that?). Today I moved her into a nice LONG tank with one side with the heat pads and a lamp above and one side with no heat or a lamp.
How does the therm thingy work when the whole tank is varying temperatures?
 
I would suggest investing in either a rheostat or thermostat. You will also need a thermometer.

I use a thermostat. The way it works is:

You plug the power cord of the UTH into the thermostat. The thermostat has a knob you can adjust until you get the desired temp for your viv. The ideal temp of the UTH is around 80-85*F.

You can find the thermostat at many pet stores and online.

I use the Zoo Med Repti Temp 500R
 
To answer your other question, a rheostat is nothing more than a dimmer. Less electricity gets to the heating element - less heat produced. Very simple. The only problem with using them is that it requires more interaction by you. Here's what I mean...

Say on any given day, you carefully adjusted your rheostat to put out just enough heat to maintain your desired temperature of 84*F, as verified by your digital thermometer. That night, the temperature dips and the ambient temperature in the room falls 10 degrees. The rheostat will continue to feed the same amount of juice to the heater that it was before, and so the temperature in the viv will decline to some amount less than you wanted to maintain. The opposite holds true the next afternoon when it gets smokin hot outside and ambient temperature goes up. The temperature in the viv will rise accordingly, well above the temperature you want. YOU have to turn it down and up as needed to maintain the temperature you want. Essentually, YOU become the thermostat.

But, they are cheaper and relatively bulletproof, so as long as you are around to check temps and adjust as needed, they're perfectly fine. Personally, I use thermostats because our house is on a programmable thermostat and the settings go up and down during the day. This way, I know Vern's temps remain relatively constant.
 
I would definately invest in a good quality thermostat. If its too hot to touch, its too hot for your corn. I did some testing before I introduced my corn to its tank, and my heat mat, unregulated was hitting 120f, that felt pretty warm to touch! Obviously the thermostat was installed before adding my corn, but without it, could of caused a very nasty accident. Good luck anyway and post some pics soon :)
 
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