UTH question

[Captain Stitch-Mozart]

I recently bought an undertank heater (I had been using a heat lamp up until now, I know that is not the proper way to heat leo's, however I did'nt know that till recently). Anyway, I have the UTH set up now along with a thermometer with a probe. But the thermometer only reads high 70's on the warm side. I have the lamp on a really low setting just to get the temp to read high enough.
The probe is right at the bottom of the tank so it measures the temp down there but it is not hot enough. When I feel the bottom of the tank it is really warm so I know it's working.
Do you think that it is not reading high enough because the carpet doesnt retain heat well? I would really like to not have to use the lamp ( I know there is a possibility of overheating the tank with them). Any advice on what to do?

I have a feeling that I am going to hear I should switch substrate but I'm going to see what advice I get.

Thanks

 

[acpart]

If the UTH is working properly, it should heat much better than that. Here are some things you can check:

--is your probe really on top of the UTH?

--find someone with a watt-meter and find out if your UTH is putting out the number of watts it's supposed to. Some of them don't work that well and are not heating properly

--is your tank near an outside wall or a window that's keeping it cool?

--what's the temperature of the floor under the hide? Sometimes that's higher

--is your thermometer working properly (do you have the setting on "interior" rather than "exterior" if there's a choice; sometimes you're actually measuring the temp inside the thermometer rather than at the probe)

If your UTH is working and you're still getting low temps, you could try taping some aluminum foil over the UTH so it is sandwiched between the bottom of the tank and the aluminum foil.

Aliza

 

[Captain Stitch-Mozart]

How do I put the probe right above the uTH? I have it attached to the back wall and the heater is about an inch in from the wall.

 

[Kitchen]

not to hijack this thread just wondering if someone could also answer this.

Will a UTH be to hot with just paper towel for a substrate? and how would you probe a sheet of paper?

 

[kaikara]

You need to sit the probe right on the substrate to know what the temps are. An UTH is not going to raise the air temps that much.

As for using it with paper towel it may raise it to much. You need to sit the probe right on the paper towel to see what the temp is. If it is too high then you will need to put something in place to lower the temp like a dimmer or thermostat.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

I'd get a temp gun. That's the best way to get really accurate temp readings. I'd also put the UTH and the light on a thermostat, then you don't have to worry about over heating or under heating the enclosure. I've said it a million times before...IMO all heating devices should be on a thermostat.

 

[Captain Stitch-Mozart]

So should I literally place the probe on top of where the UTH is? So that it is just sitting on the floor of the tank?

 

[kaikara]

So should I literally place the probe on top of where the UTH is? So that it is just sitting on the floor of the tank?

Yes

 

[Captain Stitch-Mozart]

I laid the probe touching the floor of the tank and it read 95.9. I tested different areas in the tank to make sure there was a warm side and a cooler side. All looks good.

So the air temp doesn't really matter? Is it ok if it reads middle 70's when I place the probe an inch or two off the floor?

 

[kaikara]

I laid the probe touching the floor of the tank and it read 95.9. I tested different areas in the tank to make sure there was a warm side and a cooler side. All looks good.

So the air temp doesn't really matter? Is it ok if it reads middle 70's when I place the probe an inch or two off the floor?

People will say different things on this. Some people believe air temp is more important then others. But as a nocturnal animal they are going to be more active when the air temp is cooler anyways. Belly heat is very important as they need that for digestion. In the wild they would lay on rocks that were warmed by the sun during the day to get this heat instead of basking like a diurnal animal. Thus most people think that UTH and floor temps are more important then overall air temps. If you have a hot and cool hide (as well as a humid one) one should be over the UTH and be fairly warm during the day because it is capturing the heat. This will give the leo a choice of where it wants to be.

Personally, I use and UTH all the time and overhead lighting during the day. I like the overall air temps to be in the 80's (hotter over the UTH and Cooler at the other end) during the day. I then turn off all lighting at night and just leave the UTH on at night. So air temps would fall to a little above room temperature by morning.

 

[RikW]

I run a UTH mat all the time, but during the day i have a spot lamp just to raise and keep the temp where it should be, admittidly i need to set them up on a stat, but as its winter here at the moment i find i have no trouble keeping the temp where it should be. Come the new year i will deffinatly be getting a stat to make sure i dont cook my little fella but he never complains about the spot light and quite enjoys sitting under it.