Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok my UTH is making the hot spot a little to hot...I was thiking about laying some cardboard on the bottom of the tank then covering it with aspen.. Is cardboard ok for the snake?

The snake will just probably get underneath the cardboard and still lay on the "too hot" surface. I have two suggestions, first one, get a thermostat for the uth. If not possible, then go get some eggcrate, (plastic grid for florescent lights) and put that down first then some aspen on top of that. Also, make sure your aquarium tank is lifted from the surface of whatever it is sitting on as this much heat can be dangerous to furniture. A big mistake that is made by a lot of folks is to buy a uth that is too large and produces too much heat for out Kings and Corns. And another is that they stick it on the bottom of the aquarium (it cannot be removed without damaging it making it unsafe for future use). I see at the reptile shows they just slip it underneath and do not use the sticky pad at all.

I agree with Passport, get a thermostat. Last year at home depot, I found a little switch that would work perfect for you. It's a little rectangular box about 2 in. by 4 in. It has a sliding button that works like a dimmer switch. It doesn't require any difficult wiring; all you do is cut the cord where you want the switch and the thing basically just snaps around ends. Unfortunately, I can't remember what it's called (maybe an inline dimmer switch?) but I've been using it ever since with flexwatt heat tape and it works great.
Cheers!

i went to home-depot and bought some indoor/outdoor carpet and put 2 layers in the tank with some aspen on top..the temp stays at 89 degrees now...

I think that is still too hot. 85 F would be better, and I'd turn off the heater completely at night. On-off switches are the pits. It's not difficult to build a controllable switch from a dimmer switch for light bulbs or a variable fan controll.

Paul Hollander

Have you ever tried a regular human heating pad? I've used them for years and they work great. Just place under one end of cage on low or medium setting. Easy to move around and cheap too.

Todd

what kind of human heating pad?? Where could i see one?

Ask some girls you know. I know they are used to get comfurtable heat for the ladies during those rough times of the month. I think my girl mentioned longs drugs sells them. I used one for a bit for my snakes and they worked fine for a heated spot, but were inadequate to heat the entire cage since it's in a cold room/house. But with your room it would be perfect, probably only need low setting.

Just a regular heating pad sold in the medicine area of any Wal Mart or similar store. Used for sore muscles, sprains, etc. Should be available in any department or drug store.

Todd