Is it a fire hazard to keep UTH like this?

Is it a fire hazard to keep UTH smushed under the tank like this? My tank is flat-bottomed so I don't see any other way to place an UTH. My tank is a 40 gallon, so I use two UTH and one of them I actually peeled off from the side of a tank. It surprisingly still works fine...but do you think it's a fire hazard? I don't see any exposed wires or anything, but I'm sure peeling it off did some damage to it.

Also, I recently got this tank- do you think I have provided enough stimulation for my leo? He's a giant at 100+ grams so I figured a 40 would be spacious enough. However, I prefer making my own reptile accessories instead of buying them so I just put hides in there for now and hope that it's enough stimulation/exercise for him.

One last thing: I got him from craigslist and I've had him a month. He's been fine; however, I hear all these stories of geckos coming out to greet their owners and getting excited. My leo doesn't do any of that. Sometimes he hides when he sees me, or he'll just kind of stay still. I have never seen him eat even though I have caught him in the act. When he sees me, he'll literally just stop moving. Is this just his personality or is he stressed? Or does he not like me? He's 3 years old. Thanks!

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if i were you i would go to your local pet store and buy a new UTH that you can stick directly to the bottom of your tank you will get better heat transfer if the heater is touching the glass and with the new heater should come with these rubber spacers to lift your tank of the floor leaving a space for excess heat to escape also having news paper underneath the heat pad probably isn't a good idea. also do you have your UTH plugged into a thermostat? heat mats alone are know for getting too hot. I think your tank is fine you could even house another in there comfortably as long as they are the same size and there isn't more then one male in the tank because they will fight. i also make my own hides as long as you have something in the tank that has a rough surface like the rock cave so it can rub it self against to help when shedding. sometimes they can take awhile to get use to you and the new enclosure try dropping a mealworm in front of his hide while keeping your hand laid flat in the tank but at a distance this could help it become comfortable with you i hope this helps you good luck

See, that's the thing. How do you attach an UTH under a flat tank if there's the bulge of the UTH (where the cord attaches)? Then the tank could not sit evenly.

I have always had problems with Zoomed UTH's overheating but I use exoterra and greatchoice which give me the perfect temps (90-95 degrees F)

Why wouldn't newspaper be a good idea? It's no different from sitting on a hard wood floor, I would imagine.

those rubber spacers that come with the UTH should lift the tanks up high enough that the bulge will be off the floor and the newspaper thing was just my opinion it would catch on fire a lot faster then the hard wood would take if the UTH were to ever malfunction

I bought my tank and UTH used so it did not come with a rubber spacer. Is there an alternative that I could readily buy that could act as a replacement?

Get those small (1") bathroom tiles or dominoes (which is what I use) and put them under each corner of the tank.

Aliza

You can get those little sticky pads/nubs they put on furniture legs to stop them from scratching the floor too.

Thanks everyone for the responses! I ended up going to Lowe's and getting some tiles for 16 cents and put them underneath. Everything is good now!

Like I mentioned, my gecko doesn't seem to like me? He will tolerate holding and is super calm when I hold him. However, if he is out of his hide and I come near the tank, he runs back into his hide. I've had him for about a month now. He's an adult gecko. 3 years old and 100+ grams. He's super chill outside of his cage though.