Reptile & Amphibian Forums

With my ball collection growing, Id like to switch them to tubs. Im gonna go with the larger tubs, cb70 I think. My question is, How do I heat them? I already have UTH on all of the aquariums, and id hate to waste them. Is it ok to put the uth's on the plastic tubs or will they melt? Ive used them on aquariums without a thermostat and its never been a problem....is that a bad idea? IF that DOES melt tubs, what can i use? thanks alot.

Jeremy

You use a UTH a thermostat just like for glass tanks
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Deborah
GA Ball Pythons Merchandise
www.myspace.com/gaballpythons

I had the same thing. All my tanks had UTH's What I did was use the foil looking tape it is silver and in the plumbing section of any store, I taped mine upside down under the tub, So I can remove the tub and wash it with out having to take the mat with it. I have them on thermostats and it so far has worked great.

I put a foil barrier on my shelves and them the heat tape or in your case the UTHes that you already have ,that way it is faster and safer to remove the tubes from the rack it self. And as long as you are using a controller ,and doing so properly you shouldn’t have any problems . David of DS Reptile Rescue

ahhhh ok ok thats my problem then. Ive been usig the UTH on the glass tanks for over five years with NO THERMOSTAT....I guess id HAVE to get one if i was gonna use it on plastic. I think the reason Its never been a problem in my glass tanks is because for one the glass cant melt like plastic tubs can....and I use a pretty darn thick layer of cyprus (around 3 inches) so they can dig down to where its just the right temp, and put more mulch on if it gets too hot wich i have seen them do...they just kinda make like a "nest" that has an "island" in the middle, and they coil around it or on top. SO...looks like if im gonna go w tubs i gotta get the thermostat....Im looking to have 6 tubs, i think the 42qt or w/e. If I have 6 seperate UTH's, can I plug them all into One thermostat? and what thermostat would be sized correctly with enough plugs for 6 seperate uth's? thanks alot!

Yes you can use one thermostat as long as all your UTH are the same power and same size and are suppose to be set at the same temperature, but you need to get a reliable one low end would be Ranco or Johnson high end (and must have if you plan on breeding) would be Herpstat and Helix
Thermostats

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Deborah
GA Ball Pythons Merchandise
www.myspace.com/gaballpythons

I personally use the herpstat I like this one alot.

Well I will probably get a lot of flack for this but I have been using ESU three outlet 1000watt thermostats in my Rescue for years without a single problem or failure and they are not expensive . David of DS Reptile Rescue