Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I picked up a zoomed UTH for Gibby, and then read in the directions that it shouldn't be used if using paper towels or newspaper or other thin substrate like that . . . I use paper towels. . . I don't want my gecko to get burned, I'm having a hard enough time getting her health/weight up as it is!! Any ideas? (It's not plugged in right now since I'm too nervous to use it now, and I just have the blue light on). The temp in the tank with the light is 80 on the warm side, I just wanted to use the UTH so that she could get some belly heat . . .

If you control the temperature of the UTH with a thermostat or dimmer than you can use it with a thin substrate. Temperature control is the key.

I use a uth with my leos and i use papertowels as my substrate for all of them. I just cut up an old t-shirt and put that down to regulate the heat a bit. Makes belly temps about 85 sometimes 88 at most. Never had any problems.

I put sand in my gecko's cage and then cover the sand with papertowels. The sand conducts the heat really well and protects the gecko from burns, while the papertowels keep the gecko off the sand, and make the cage easy to clean. I have done this for three years with no problem with two tanks. Do ue a digital temperature reader to check what the heat level is at belly level, to be sure it's right for your gecko. Good luck,