Cooling down the hot side

[kitten]

I'm new here and have just had my (first ever!) geckos for a week now.

I have my UTH hooked up to a rheostat. It's on the lowest setting but it will not drop below 93 degrees. I read about putting paper towels under the substrate. I'm currently using repticarpet, will the paper towels underneath it help cool down the hot side?

Thanks, everyone!

 

[acpart]

93 is probably OK. The only other ways I can think of to drop the temp are the following:

--get a thermostat which will turn off the UTH whenever it gets too hot

--put a few more layers on the hot side. I think you'd need a whole lot of paper towels to make a difference, but tile would do it better.

--get a UTH rated for a smaller tank.

However, if it's 93, I think you're fine.

Aliza

 

[kitten]

Okay, thanks! I'll try that. I'm definitely getting thermostats (I have them in 2 different cages) for the winter time. I'll try some of those tips though.

 

[nats]

acpart is right!

Get a thermostat. Do not use a rheostat for controling your UTH.
They are very inaccurate for that purpose because they cant compensate for temp fluctuations in the room.

P.S. see if you can afford a "proportional" type thermostat.
They do not turn your UTH on and off constantly, so they greatly extend it's life. They are also QUIET!!!