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New UTH? What kind please!?

D

dusterdust

New member
I'm getting a new UTH today for my 2 year old ghost. He is in quite a big viv...
There are two kinds of exo terra heat pads at the store...
One is like desert, one is like rain forest or something...
Since I have a thermostat...Which should I get, the hotter desert one, and have the ability to regulate it? Or the rainforest one that doesn't even feel like it could burn at all, so regulation is almost pointless, but possibly not hot enough...
Thanks,
Dustin
 
Let me start by saying that I am not as experienced as others here, and my opinion should be counted as such.

With that being said, this is my opinion on heating:

Personally, I would rather have the lower wattage, and not rely on the thermostat for regulation. Thermostats are mechanical devices that can, and do, fail. If you have a "high heat" pad, and the thermostat fails, leaving the circuitry wide open, there is a chance you could "bake" your reptile before you know what's happened. If you have the lower wattage heater, you can always supplement the heat with an overhead light, but you never need to worry about your thermostat failing and possibly killing your pet.

I have my viv set up wth a very low wattage UTH, and I supplement the heating abilities with an overhead incandescent light during the day, and an overhead red light at night. I also have the ambient temperature in my room set to around 70*F, so that if any of the heating systems fail and shutdown, my snake will still be warm enough to survive until I can replace the bulb/UTH.

In this way, I am providing my snake with a comfortable, warm level of "belly heat", as well as overhead "basking" options.

As I said...my opinion should be treated as an inexperienced one. I am learning as I go along, and I will be following this thread closely to hear what others have to say...
 
BTW, I'm using Aspen...
Need to know some opinions soon, I'd like to go buy it...
The ghost has been in about 70F for a week now... Hope he is OK...
 
dusterdust said:
I'm getting a new UTH today for my 2 year old ghost. He is in quite a big viv...
There are two kinds of exo terra heat pads at the store...
One is like desert, one is like rain forest or something...
Since I have a thermostat...Which should I get, the hotter desert one, and have the ability to regulate it? Or the rainforest one that doesn't even feel like it could burn at all, so regulation is almost pointless, but possibly not hot enough...
Thanks,
Dustin
Click to expand...

Dustin,

I don't know that there is much opinion about the UTH one uses. I have ZooMeds under two and picked up some Flex stuff at the last show I went too. The UTH pads won't burn you picking them up. They are designed to heat up the glass of your viv... which is when the danger comes to your snake. The pad could be handled easily enough, but the bottom of your tank could be reading 100+

I just recently switched my big guy to Aspen and he loves it. Never been a burrower until we found this stuff on the advice of the group here.

You really need to get those temps up on the warm end as soon as possible.
 
I would go with the rainforest one myself. Using less wattage will have a lower effect on your electric bill. However, it is likely you will still need some way to regulate it. If the desert heat mat gets up to over 120, the rainforest will still likely be warmer than your snake would find comfortable.
 
I just use ZooMed ones I get at the petstore, they don't get above 100F, and I use a rheostat to keep them at the appropriate temperatures.
 
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