hello,
my little leo lives in a 20gl long tank with a 75wt blacklight over her humid hide and its on at all time. i use the stickable thermometers and the cold side usually reads 80, while the humid hide side ranges from 80 to 92. i have heard these thermometers are old news so i just bought one of those temp guns, but its still being shipped so i dunno exact temps. her water and another hide is on the cool side of the tank. her substrate is paper towels. my question was should i just keep using the bulb for heat or should i switch to a UTH? or both? im sure i dont have the cash to buy a temperture controlling device for the UTH, so is paper towels to thin for the UTH? if so any advice on substrate to accommodate a UTH? also her tank is extremely boring, any cheap (or free) ideas to help spruce it up? much thanks
Reptile & Amphibian Forums
Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.
uth versus overhead heating
Replies (2)
I can try answer your question about the UTH. In my opinion you should really have it, as far as I know leos need the tummy heat, unlike other lizards who bask. They can run a little pricey, about $20- 30 dollors. I have UTH for all my tanks, I have 5 of them, seven geckos in all. As for the temp control for the UTH, they are not taht expensive, I have seen them for about $20.00. There are many sites online, look up reptile supplies in a search engine. Sometimes you can get a deal. As for the paper towel qustion, I use paper towels and have never had a problem. If you are worried just use a double thickness on that side of the tank. Hope this helps.
-----
7 Leos
Milo(my adult male) Mongo, Raptor,and Spaz
Popeye and Boo(named after Monster's Inc. Character)
and Pumpkin the Patternless (my baby male)
1 2 month old. Female Bearded Dragon. Tequila Sunrise, Tequila for short
1 dog
Baby (Peekapoo)
2 Cats
Mr. Kitty and Shelly (my adopted senior citizen. She's 14!)
A uth is the best form of heat for the majority of herps. You will need a thermostat however. The cheap ones are not worth a dime and have a failure rate that is beyond beleif.. Also the temp gun you bought will only tell you the surface temps of the cage so you will need something to measure the temps of the air.. Shoot me an email and I would be more than happy to help you out with your specific setup..
-Matt Graybeal
-----
www.mgreptiles.com
CBB Herps and Heating Supplies
