UTH and overhead heat

[JasonO80]

I am seeing that most use UTH for their Leo's and insist on telling people that overhead heating is not sufficient to keep a Leo's belly warm. I am honestly using both on my 55 gallon Vivarium. But wanted to defend the overhead heaters slightly. Thought one is Leo's live in a dessert climate that is only heated by the day time sun. Thought two is as long as you are using a substrate that will hold in the heat coming off of the overhead then you are ok. My small tank (29 gal) only uses overhead heating and keeps the substrate at 90-92 on the hot side and no less than 70 on the cool side. If you don't want to light up the tank with a Red Light 24-7 then I suggest using the ceramic overheads they last much longer than burning through bulbs and will also be more consistent with changing temps in the home. But like I said in the beginning of this I do use a combination of both on my large tank just to reduce the amount of clutter that you see with controlling the climate. And on another note with the UTH definately need a thermostat with those and still monitor with an inferred thermometer I suggest a higher end automotive or diagnostic style one, you will pay more but will be able to be a lot more exact. Ok now I open this up for correction or thoughts on anyone else part!

 

[katie_]

Its not just about belly heat. Yes a bulb would be able to maintain appropriate temps with some work, but the light itself is still a stresser - especially for albinos.

 

[JasonO80]

Its not just about belly heat. Yes a bulb would be able to maintain appropriate temps with some work, but the light itself is still a stresser - especially for albinos.

That is why I mentioned the ceramic overheads. They give off no light and provide a stable heat that you can actually control without a thermostat.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

I use mostly only overhead heat (light during the day, CHE at night). My leo eats and poops and acts just fine. If she needs belly heat, she climbs on top of her warm hide (which is a large, flat rock on top), or on the lower part that sticks out and is warmed by the light, or basks on the dirt. UTHs are better, but I already had the lights and don't have to worry about them malfunctioning or getting thermostats.

Though there are people that argue that leos needing belly heat is a common misconception, and they only need proper temps. Which is true, I don't know.

~Maggot

 

[Kylerbassman]

UTH and overhead heat.

I think depending on setup, overhead is fine. Sometimes situations arise in a setup that you have to. I think main issue is more with small tanks and all hot not regulated temps as some are careless. I do believe however that a Uth is a very excellent way to provide heat to there stomachs for digestion. I have 20 gallon long with slate. I have a 20 gallon zoo med uth and I use about a 25-50 watt light. I have a nighttime viewing bulb, but I don't run them constantly. In my opinion if your going to use a light to simulate daytime, you might as well use the heat. It's all about discretion.

 

[JasonO80]

I think depending on setup, overhead is fine. Sometimes situations arise in a setup that you have to. I think main issue is more with small tanks and all hot not regulated temps as some are careless. I do believe however that a Uth is a very excellent way to provide heat to there stomachs for digestion. I have 20 gallon long with slate. I have a 20 gallon zoo med uth and I use about a 25-50 watt light. I have a nighttime viewing bulb, but I don't run them constantly. In my opinion if your going to use a light to simulate daytime, you might as well use the heat. It's all about discretion.

Kyle think we could get a picture of your slate set up? I am curious to see how you did it.

 

[Ozy]

I also have a 20 gallon long with slate tile. Here's a pic of my setup.. Sorry it's kind of blurry. I can tell you exactly how I did my tiles if you want.

 

[NikkiC223]

I was using both an UTH and CHE and my temps were wayyyy too hot on the warm side. I took away the CHE and I'm not just using the UTH and the temps are just perfect now. I have it set to a temp adjuster so when its colder outside and my house cools down, I turn it up...but it sits at a constant 92 degrees on the floor. When I rescued my leo, he only came with a CHE and I noticed the temps were still too cold for him so I bought him a UTH and just use that now

 

[JasonO80]

I also have a 20 gallon long with slate tile. Here's a pic of my setup.. Sorry it's kind of blurry. I can tell you exactly how I did my tiles if you want.

Sure explain. I am going to be setting up a 55 gal and looking for substrate options. I would like to use a combination so I might put in a slate section.

 

[Ozy]

I just went to Home Depot and got some Natural Slate Tile, went to the pet store and got some hermit crab sand. Came home and scrubbed the tiles with a toothbrush and dawn dish soap, then rinsed them REALLY well with SUPER hot water and more toothbrush scrubbing. I let them air dry, then put a layer of hermit crab sand down to eliminate air pockets and help distribute heat evenly, then put the tiles on top of it. There is no grout or sealant or anything on them.

 

[Kylerbassman]

UTH and overhead heat.

Sorry these aren't the best pics and there are still a few things I want to mess with still (there always is)

Substrate
I got natural slate tiles. I picked through the bunch at depot to get thinnest ones. I had the guy cut them there and I was slightly off, but I think next time I really clean I'll fix a few spots. I put a 1" or so inch sand layer around edges of all the tile leaving the center of the tile completely open so there was an air gap between Uth and slate. You have to watch cause sand is a good insulator and if you just poor sand all over the bottom, you are actually blocking a lot of heat. After you arrange tiles pour sand in cracks 1/4" at a time and spray with water. This will help keeping sand put. I just recently moved my tank so I have some loose sand here and there right now.

Heat
I have a zoo med 20 gallon Uth and I keep my lights generally above it. I can easily reach temps of 100 so I scaled back big time on light and I think I'm using a 15-25 watt with thermostat to shut off uth at 96. My house temps are pretty good so the left side of my 20 gallon long stays just around 72.

Hides
I actually made the hide on left with styrofoam grout and modge podge. Its one of the best things I did. Super easy because I made tops removable so I could change out easy. Plus it conserved space with two nice size hides. Hide on right is store bought along with the wood and bowls.

Litterbox
I cut a piece of plastic packaging and made a dish to put about 1/4-1/2 inch of sand. As you can see in the pick my leos love using it to go.


View attachment 55426

 

[JasonO80]

That looks good. I am really thinking of taking my 55 gal long tank and do a realistic vivarium. I like using the ground english walnut. But I am thinking of using that at one end and flagstone from the garden center at Lowes to create a dessert like rock feature that raises things to a second level while doubling as a hide underneath then wraps back along the back side of the tank. I don't know I have this image in my head that continues to get more elaborate and cool. I just don't see how I could restrict it to ground level when the tank is 19" high.

 

[ericssonfan81]

Im not against using CHE's or bulbs if they are used in conjunction with a UTH or even alone as long as you can reach proper temps.
But I've read posts where the only heating owners have been providing are basking lamps or CHE's and not surprisingly those are the same posts where they are experiencing eating and activity issues only to find out that the warm side is only reaching 80F.

Very strange though in my over 12 yrs of leopard gecko owning, I've never had probs of temps not reaching 92F with my 2 exo terra UTHs and my current geckos or my zoo meds with my previous pair but I noticed a few have been only reaching 70 or 80F with the heatpads. I also live in a region with colder climate and mine would reach in the 100s if I didn't have my thermostat.

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Im not against using CHE's or bulbs if they are used in conjunction with a UTH or even alone as long as you can reach proper temps.
But I've read posts where the only heating owners have been providing are basking lamps or CHE's and not surprisingly those are the same posts where they are experiencing eating and activity issues only to find out that the warm side is only reaching 80F.

Very strange though in my over 12 yrs of leopard gecko owning, I've never had probs of temps not reaching 92F with my 2 exo terra UTHs and my current geckos or my zoo meds with my previous pair but I noticed a few have been only reaching 70 or 80F with the heatpads. I also live in a region with colder climate and mine would reach in the 100s if I didn't have my thermostat.

Out of curiosity, what substrate do you use? And what size UTHs for what size tank? I have about 1-2" of rocky soil and a 20 long (so lots of screen for heat to escape through), both of which I think might have something to do with the UTHs not being very effective for me. I don't really worry about it though, as my temps are great with just the lighting.

~Maggot

 

[ericssonfan81]

Out of curiosity, what substrate do you use? And what size UTHs for what size tank? I have about 1-2" of rocky soil and a 20 long (so lots of screen for heat to escape through), both of which I think might have something to do with the UTHs not being very effective for me. I don't really worry about it though, as my temps are great with just the lighting.

~Maggot

My previous geckos were on slate and my current ones are on ceramic.
I wanted to go slate again but I didn't have access to a wet saw and neither Home Depot, Rona, or Lowes provided a tile cutting service where I live so I went with ceramic which is a little slippery but still holds heat well.
Each of my enclosures use an 8"x8" Exo Terra UTH in an 18"x18" setup, and each a second level if the cool side isn't cool enough.

Im not against using bulbs or heat emitters at all as long as proper temps are reached. Are your substrate temps reaching 92F? I think I'm the opposite. One time I put in a 60W incandescent bulb during the daytime (dumb idea) and I really didn't notice the substrate temp go up; maybe only by a few degrees F. We've been getting extended heatwaves for the past few summers here to the point where I can unplug my UTH and my main issue is trying to keep the cool side cool enough.

 

[lisa127]

I'm an overhead heat user. I use overhead heat with slate tiles beneath the bulb. The slate tiles heat up to between 93 and 95 degrees during the day. During the night they are right around 90 degrees. My cool side is usually between 75 and 77. I use an infrared temperature gun to measure temps. Slate tiles heated up by overhead heat is indeed belly heat. How do you think they get their belly heat in the wild? By objects warmed by the sun during the day. There are no undertank heaters in nature!

And to clarify, I never use white (day) bulbs though. Not even during the day.

 

[Kylerbassman]

UTH and overhead heat.

The main reason I used the Uth is because I like it cool in my house. The lights obviously do some of the work, but it can be hard for me to get them to stay consistent as by the end of the day my slate can be much warmer due to a full day of light exposure. At least that's if I use a higher wattage now in my setup without Uth. Plus I have heard that running a Uth is much more cost effective and uses less energy to heat, although I'm still using lighting, so I doubt I'm really saving much. Like I said, it is about discretion although I will agree you need to watch for increased light sensitivity in these animals, especially albinos. That would be like saying you should only use a a Chevy truck. People depending on environment and circumstance are going to have to use different measures to get similar results. If you notice behavior changes when changing things or overtime having issues with shedding, pooping, and behavior, then you are going to need to address/change things around to make them not only work for you, but your Leo. I'm actually still changing things around here and there to get it "perfect". I'm more worried about people who like in other threads decide no matter how much good info your willing to give them don't ensure the basics are covered. We are all going to have opinions, and I'm not here to say my opinions are fact, but it's just what I implement that has seemed to work best. Both my Leo's are doing the best they ever have. A lot of the reason we see good results is because we do are homework and aren't too arrogant to take good advice.

 

[JasonO80]

Ok completely off gecko's why does my thread about this have 5 stars on it what does that mean?

 

[katie_]

I use heat cable.
A heat lamp burned a hole in my floor.

 

[JasonO80]

I am also starting to hear alot of good things about the Hydrofarm Thermostats. Is this the way to go without getting real expensive?