Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I acquired a tomato frog over the weekend. He had been at the petstore
since March 2004. They had used an undertank heater (mini, about 6" x
5" under the substrate on one side of a 10 gallon during the cooler
months. These websites also recommend a UTH:
http://www.calzoo.com/html/tomatofrogs.html
http://www.pollywog.co.uk/tomatofrogcaresheet.html
http://www.geocities.com/spsac/tomatofrogs.html
I have attached the UTH to the side of the tank for now. I am using
about 3 inches of organic potting soil (no perlite) with sphagnum moss
mixed in. Is it safe to put the UTH under the substrate on the bottom
of the tank? My tank sits on a wooden shelf. Should I put spacers
under the tank to dissipate the heat? Is it unsafe for the UTH to even
be on the side of the tank?

I just don't want to burn my frog.

Wrangler2

1 Phyllomedusa sauvagei – Waxy monkey tree frog (Pedro)
1 Bufo Variegatus – Christmas toad (Jingles)
2 Melanophryniscus stelzneri – Yellow and Black walking toads (Frick and Frack)
1 Phrynomerus microps – Red and Black walking toad (Cher)
1 Bombina orientalis – Firebelly toad (Charlie)
2 Bufo viridis – Egyptian toads (Tommy Toad and Tina Toad)
3 Scaphiophryne marmorata – Green mossy hoppers (Dorothy and Toto and Tinman)
1 Hyla versicolor – Grey tree frog (Slate)
1 Dyscophus guintei - Tomato Frog (Jabba)

1 Eublepharis macularius – Leopard gecko (Slinky)
1 Rhacodactylus ciliatus – Crested gecko (Bucky)
1 Phelsuma laticauda laticauda – Gold dust day gecko (Nugget)

Different brands of under tank heat pads reach different temperatures. Older ones in particular have been accused of burning reptiles and amphibians. It's not recomended to let an animal come in contact with the glass directly over the heat pad. That said, if you can set it up on the side of the tank so that the frog isn't going to touch it and it brings the tank to the appropriate temperature then there isn't any problem with using it. A safer way to heat the cage would be to use a small infra-red or night time reptile heat lamp. Good luck,
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Devin Edmonds
devin@amphibiancare.com
www.amphibiancare.com