Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OK I decided to upgrade to a 20 long even though Sobee doesn't need it yet. Now, up until now I've been operating with only a heat lamp (I know I know, Bad Jackal Bad!) but now that I have some money I can get a UTH, only I'm not sure exactly what to do with it or what size to get for a 20 long. What do I need to worry about as far as saftey goes? My tank sits on a wodden bookself under a windo but that might change when I upgrade sizes. My substrate setup is a little odd. I have calci sand on the bottom to create a cusion, but then I have a supertight netting covering it to prevent any problems. Will the UTH be able to penatrate through that? And lastly, do I need to be concerned about the UTH getting too hot? Thanks for any help, I'm still a confused Newbie, lol.

Jackal
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Rebel Born, Rebel Bred

I also have a 20 long for my leo, and am using the 6"x8" Repti-Therm UTH. I'm using calci-sand too, but not the mesh over it. I guess your using that to avoid impaction problems? I would think that the 6"x8" would be sufficient to heat even with the mesh/netting (the mesh does have holes, it won't block any heat). The only problem I can think of is if the mesh isn't laying on the actual substrate, but a few inches above, thereby creating a layer of air between substrate and mesh. And of course, I could be totally wrong with that idea, hehe.

Long story short, I think the 6x8 should suit your purposes.

Do you have just one spot light, or two? I have one "standard" 100w bulb on during the day, and one of the 60w red tinted reptile bulbs for the night.

From my experience, the bigger UTHs are the ones that have problems with overheating. You probably won't have any problems with having the heat penetrate through the substrate.

For my 20Ls, I use the 10-20 gallon size from ZooMed. If you don't go with that brand, pick a UTH that covers about a quarter to a third of the tank's length. You can try to maintain the temperature by stacking on more substrate, but I think it's better to get a rheostat or thermostat, because it's just safer to not have that extra heat coming in contact with your furniture. Plus, it conserves a little bit of energy.
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chickabowwow

3.2.3 leopard geckos (Rosie, Locke, Lisa, Caesar, Tommy)

For the heat to penetrate through the substrate and not have the potential to crack the glass, I bury it midway through the substrate. My UTHs get to be around 105*F after a day or two, so this way the top layer of sand isn't too warm and I don't have to worry about too much heat build up under the tank, either.
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Got hips like Cinderella / Must be having a good shame / Talking sweet about nothing / Cookie I think you're Tame