Uth ???????

What wattage UTH would I need for a ten gallon tank with reptile cage carpet and one snake? Also, is it better to have a UTH or a normal basking lamp on top?
Thanks.

I don't know what wattage mine is, but it should say on the mat itself "For use in X gallon aquariums". As far as the mat vs lamp question, it depends. If you're using an actual visible light, you won't be able to use it for heat at night because corns need dark as well. If you're using a red heat lamp, it's a little different since you can leave it on at night. Since corns aren't generally climbers (when they're older anyway), it would make more sense to heat from the bottom or side so that the heat is closer to the snake. Unless you already have one, I'd hold off on buying a lamp for if you ever get something like an arboreal python or boa or something of that sort.

ZooMed mini UTH is 8W and recommended for 10G tanks (there are other brands but I do not have those details). I do not know how the cage carpet will affect its efficiency however as I have never used it. Even with this UTH a thermostat may be needed to control this to maintain a healthy temp.

For a standard 10G tank a 40W lamp is generally sufficient and can be used during the day only as long as the room your snake is in does not fall bellow 74F at night.

The choice is yours to make and there is a lot of information on both types of heat source by doing a search. Then you will see it is important to use a thermometer to ensure a safe temperature is maintained.

I think I will stick with the under tank heater and not the heat lamp. Thanks for you help.

Make sure that you test it before you put any snake in there. When we first got ours it maxed out at 98 degrees! But the people here were very nice and showed us how to make a dimmer switch that works like a dream!

and before you mount it permanently on the viv, you may want to consider an alternative (like sticking it on a tile, or covering the sticky side with aluminum foil and duct taping it on the viv) so that if you ever switch vivs, you can use the same UTH instead of having to buy a new one or potentially damage the old one (they're not real easy or safe to remove)

I was told this weekend at the Mid-Atlantic Reptile Show that I cannot switch to a UTH and completely replace my heat lamp becausue the snake needs the air heated as well as the substrate or else my corn will develop respiratory problems. The lamp I have is plenty hot enough, but I was contemplating switching to a UTH only for various reasons. Thoughts?

Not true in the least. I'd disregard that advise completely and ditch the lamp.

Originally Posted by CAV

Not true in the least. I'd disregard that advise completely and ditch the lamp.

RIght on

Maybe if you lived in the arctic circle and the snake was outside.......that little uth wouldn't do the job, but believe me, unless you're living in a hut with no heat in deep snow winter, your snake will be fine