[Angey]

Hi, right now I use paper towel subtrate. I am going to be switching to tile soon however my uth barely makes the floor temps with only one layer of papertowel and I sometimes have to substitute the heat with the red light. I am wondering if the uth I have will work with the tile or would I probably need a new one?

[Harley_Davidson]

Angey is your UTH a rainforest or desert one?

[Moosenart]

how old and what size?

[Angey]

I believe it is a rainforest one...

She is 12-13 months old, almost 9 inches long from head to tip of tail and 79g

[Yoshi'smom]

What size is the UTH and what size is the tank? If the UTH is too small for the tank then you won't get the appropriate temps.

[Angey]

The tank is 24"x12" and the uth is medium which covers just over 1/3 of the bottom of the tank.
Before I had a smaller uth and knew then I had to substitute the heat. With the small one it was warm to the touch. I didnt have a probe at the time so I'm not too sure what the exact temps were then but since I replaced the uth with this one, it's barely warm to the touch and sits an average of 88-90.
She rarely goes on the cool side except to go potty. She has no problems in that area, no problems shedding and seems very healthy overall.

Basically just wondering if the tile would conduct the heat better than the one layer of papertowel or if I need a different/better uth. Maybe there is something wrong with this one?

[Travis E]

the temps you have are really good. i would try a cheap tile. just not the peel and stick kind in has chemicals in it that is harmful. just keep check on the temps. when you switch. i would say if the temps dont fall below 85 it should be fine. you dont want the temps over 90. i have tile in my leo tank, i also use a heat lamp (50w bulb for a 10g) aswell as uth. to get the correct temps. hope this helps.

[Yoshi'smom]

You DO want the temps on the ground above the UTH to be 92-95. They need to be a bit higher.

[Angey]

Originally Posted by Yoshi'smom

You DO want the temps on the ground above the UTH to be 92-95. They need to be a bit higher.

Yes I do substitute the heat with a red light most days... The temps I quoted were the uth alone which is left on 24/7.

So by the sounds of it, I do need a better uth. Is there a big difference between the rainforest and desert ones? WHich one should I be using?

[Harley_Davidson]

Angey, you might want to switch your UTH for the desert one and put in slate tile as slate is an awesome heat conductor. Your other option is to get some Flexwatt heat tape and make a UTH for the tank but you need a thermostat for that to regulate the heat. IMO the Flexwatt is best, I plan on switching all my tanks over sometime in the next couple months. I just like the heat it produces better than the ready made UTHs.