Reptile & Amphibian Forums

which heat source is better, lighting or uth?

there was a reason i asked this. my uth is not working properly i was using just the uth and the hot side of the tank got up to 90 degrees, i unplugged it and let it sit to cool down, plugged it back up and the same thing happened. so i unplugged it again and put a light on the top of the enclosure, the tank is sitting at about 82 degrees. will he be ok until i can get another uth?

>>there was a reason i asked this. my uth is not working properly i was using just the uth and the hot side of the tank got up to 90 degrees, i unplugged it and let it sit to cool down, plugged it back up and the same thing happened. so i unplugged it again and put a light on the top of the enclosure, the tank is sitting at about 82 degrees. will he be ok until i can get another uth?

The light will be fine.
Some people only use lights and some only UTH.
I happen to heat some with UTH's, some with normal human heat pads, some with flex watt heat tape and some with bulbs.
you need to go to a local hardware store to get a thermostat for the UTH. This helps.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

I use mostly uth that are hooked up to thermostats but I use Lights on some of mine.
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Derek Dunlop
DDReptiles
http://www.freewebs.com/ddreptiles/index.htm

Get yourself a thermostat for the UTH. This way you can regulate what temps the UTH is kicking out. The snake should be fine with a light as long as it doesnt create too much ambient temps.

The bad thing with lights is not only do they heat up the flooring and anything else under it, but they also increase the ambient temps of the enclosure. A UTH connected to a thermostat can be regulated as to not heat up too much and increase the ambient temps too high.
Brian

>>there was a reason i asked this. my uth is not working properly i was using just the uth and the hot side of the tank got up to 90 degrees, i unplugged it and let it sit to cool down, plugged it back up and the same thing happened. so i unplugged it again and put a light on the top of the enclosure, the tank is sitting at about 82 degrees. will he be ok until i can get another uth?
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RATS
1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Corn snake (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Reaper and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Yellow rat snake "Wolverine" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

What kind of thermostat would you get and how do you hook it up? (Can you tell I am electrically challenged?) Could you hook up more than one UTH to one thermostat?

Thanks,
Joanna

I use flexwatt heat tape for my rack systems and this is what works best for me:

Use a rheostat dimmer, the kind you pick up at Lowes or Home Depot. I use the one that replaces any standard light switch, just make sure it is rated for at least 600 watts. I couple it with a normal electric outlet and put them both into a dual electric box (new construction plastic). I hook up an extension cord to the rheostat. That way you can plug your UTH into the outlet that is hooked up to the rheostat. To hook up the extension cord, simply cut off the end that has the multi-plug outlet, strip the wires, run them into the plastic electrical box and hook them to the rheostat. Then hook the rheostat into the dual outlet, place a cover on it, put on the rheostat knob, and you have a nice hook up that allows you to easily replace any UTH with flexwatt, heat lamp etc...

Here is a pic of one with just a normal rheostat setup...

And here is one with the slider/dimmer....

And a oblique shot...

If your not sure about the wiring, it is pretty straight forward and instructions are enclosed. You can also ask anyone at the hardware store about wiring.
If you use a standard 2 prong extension cord, then you wont have a green wire ground to hook up, only a black and white wire. If you use a heavy guage 3 prong extension cord you will have 3 wires to hook up. A green, white, and black. Once you do one, it is easy to remember. Just like hooking up a normal light switch!

If you use this method, be sure and secure the power supply cord so it does not pull out of the electrical box! This will cause a fire for sure, as you will have a hot wire exposed!! Notice I have cable safety hooks at the bottom of each electrical box keeping the cables from accidentally being pulled out, and I have the cables tied in knots inside the boxes as well for added security. One cannot be too safe when dealing with electricity!!!

I have 2 sets of flexwatt hooked up to each rheostat, and could probably safely hook a couple more to it. As long as you dont exceed the wattage of the dimmer/rheostat, you should be safe.
Brian

>>What kind of thermostat would you get and how do you hook it up? (Can you tell I am electrically challenged?) Could you hook up more than one UTH to one thermostat?
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Joanna

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RATS
1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Corn snake (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Reaper and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Yellow rat snake "Wolverine" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

I think I get it! I will have my husband look at it too and between the two of us one of us should avoid getting electrocuted!

I am assuming you have a thermometer in the tank or on the UTH and adjust the rheostat accordingly. So if there is a change in temp in the room you need to adjust the dimmer?

Thanks again,
Joanna

I have thermometers in the back of the rack system and at the front as well. This way I know what the temps are on the warm side and cool side and can adjust accordingly.
Brian

>>I think I get it! I will have my husband look at it too and between the two of us one of us should avoid getting electrocuted!
>>
>>I am assuming you have a thermometer in the tank or on the UTH and adjust the rheostat accordingly. So if there is a change in temp in the room you need to adjust the dimmer?
>>
>>Thanks again,
>>Joanna
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RATS
1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Corn snake (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Reaper and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Yellow rat snake "Wolverine" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

Joanna

any chance you can repost the picks on these please? they are not available from kingsnake any longer or perhaps email them to me?

thanks,
Rob
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0.2 Normal Adult ball pythons
0.2 Normal Adult ball pythons (on breeding loan)
0.1 Sub-adult
1.0 Normal ball python
1.1 Bell Line Pastel Ball pythons
1.0 Adult Het Albino Ball Python
1.0 Het Pied Ball Python
1.0 Het Carmel Ball Python
1.0 66% Het pied Ball python
0.2 50% Het albino Ball Pythons