Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

Do we really need UTH (Under the Tank Heaters) for tanks even if we have heat lamps? I've read that belly heat is necessary in order to digest food so I'm not sure if I need to add a UTH to each tank.

My thoughts are that in nature, the earth is heated by the sun and my lamp is comparable to the sun in my environment. I do plan to upgrade to a rack system but what should I do in the meantime? Do I add UTH to each tank or not?

I recently bought a ceramic 100 watt for my 30 gallon tall tank but I noticed it's slightly under 75 degrees on the cool end. Should I use a UTH on the cool end to get that temp higer? Please advise.

Thanks

UTH's are not absolutley necessary. i dont own a single one. they do have alot of benefits such as helpin humidity and stuff. but i do fine withou them. but with the cool temps on your cool side...a heat pad would be good to bring those up. and it would be smart to raise the cool side temps a few degrees.

-Mike

next to hot rocks. IMO.......

After thinking about it for a bit, I do not know ANY breeders ( breeding Regius on a larger scale for more than a couple years) that use lights for heating thier enclosures. As a matter of fact, the 2 sources that I see most often used are the Freedom Breeder style heat and UTH.

In "nature" do Ball pythons get their heat directly from the suns rays (ie basking)? That is radient heat. Or do they get their heat and thermoregulate conductively by coiling around warm objects and the warmed earth? As a nocturnal and somewhat fossorial/subterranean animal, I would think that the answer would lie in their physiology.

Just because the sun is over head and warms the Earth, does not mean all the Earth's creatures bask in all its glory to get to their desired temps.

Belly heat.
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My thoughts are that in nature, the earth is heated by the sun and my lamp is comparable to the sun in my environment

Yes, and since Ball Pythons are nocturnal they do not come out to bask in the sun. The seek warmth from objects warmed by the sun (ground, rocks, etc) thereby getting belly heat. At least that's the way I think about it. I provide both for my BP - UTh on warm side and infrared heat light on cool side (both to keep cool side temps in correct range and for nighttime viewing).

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np

I agree with pretty much everyone here. I keep tabs on my substrate temps and even with the dreaded overhead lighting, they're always fine. Undertank heaters are definetly a great addition to heating, but I don't think it should be the only source of heat. From my experience, they ambient air temps don't get high enough, but that was over five years ago that I used one. And I'm not really down for having my room temperature at 85 in my living room. I would imagine that most commercial breeders, as someone said, don't use lights because it just wouldn't be practical for 1000 different enclousres. The lights would take up too much space and cause too much heat. I agree with the statement about the Earth's ambient ground temps, but if the sun can heat the ground why can't a light heat the substrate? I guess it really just comes down to what you need, for your needs, and personal preference.

"Undertank heaters are definetly a great addition to heating,"

NO, they are not a good addition, it is the best way to heat your animals cage.

Personally, I think that's an opinion. But I have been "out of the game", so to say, for several years and there has been a lot more learned since then. I don't have any problems with my ambient temps, basking temps, substrate temps or humidity using lights. It really only seems more efficient, to me, to use UTH with several snakes. Again, I might just be very behind the times, but in almost eight years I've never had any problems with using lights. :- (there needs to be a confused smiley)