UTH not very warm

[EdmontonEskimo]

I just put an exoterra uth heater on my tank and it only gets to 85 degrees measured by a zoo med digital thermometer. Whats the deal?

 

[Jordan]

how long has it been plugged in for? sometimes it can take a couple of days.
also it can gain more heat by wrapping it in one layer of tin foil i think.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Are you using a probe thermometer?

 

[EdmontonEskimo]

Its been plugged in for a day now, still reading 85. Yes I am using a probe thermometer and its sitting right on top of the uth.

 

[gothra]

If it is not faulty, the heat is lost to other places. Try put some insulating material beneath the UTH to divert all the heat to go up. I personally use 1 cm cork board.

 

[Dog Shrink]

or you could return it and get a cobra heat mat which heats at a constant 100 degrees. I love mine. Never aproblem.

 

[EdmontonEskimo]

I will try some half inch styrofoam, unfortunately the only heat pads I've seen around here are zoomed and exoterra

 

[Dog Shrink]

That was the same here, that's why I ordered my cobra mat on line from reptiledirect.com best prices I had found on cobra mats. They had my order to me with in 4 days of placing the order.

 

[kiwi]

If you're in Edmonton, so am I, and I have also been having problems getting my UTH to get warm enough. I think it might just be how cold it is here

I'm off to find cork board to try to insulate now!

 

[vinzyangel]

I use lights to help. Red during the day, black at night. My leos seem happier and warmer

 

[EdmontonEskimo]

I'm trying some of tat foil covered bubblewrap stuff, hopefully it helps. I'm not very happy that I have to use something else to make this thing work properly.

 

[Dog Shrink]

It really is the general law of physics at work tho... if you expose yourself to heat loss in one direction is won't be goin in the direction yo need it so it's really not modifying the mat to "work properly" it's just using common sense to make it work most efficiently when it isn't producing the higher temps that you need. You insulte your house for the same reason so why should insulating your heat mat be any different? I have a thick piece of plastic styrofoam under mine to direct the heat upwards but being a porous material it still allows the mat to breathe. THAT is where I worry about using things like foil. It sandwiches the mat, where is the room for it to breathe? Hopefully the bubble wrap works for you, if not I would seriously consider getting a larger UTH or switching to a cobra. Good luck.

 

[EdmontonEskimo]

Ok bud, you should maybe try not to come off so pompous and arrogant, people don't generally like that. I appreciate help but not when it comes accross as thats common sense or its the laws of physics, come on. I understand how heat works, I've been in the construction field for many years. I shouldn't have to use anything to make a product work is all I'm saying but thanks.

 

[Dog Shrink]

I wasn't trying to sound pompous or arrogant (and I really don't see where I was either but if you're offended, sorry), I was simply trying to be factual & say that you shouldn't be so upset if you need to make a heat barrier. It doesn't mean your product is defective (unless they specify a heat range on the product and you're not reaching that with out assistance) I have found that most uth's don't run at a consistant temp, which is why I went with the cobra, because they do. I was simply trying to help rationalize a problem you (and many others seem to have with those brands) were having with your mat. A lot of people don't have good common sense when it comes to thermodynamics so I was simply trying to put it into perspective.

 

[EdmontonEskimo]

it just comes off a little bit that way with some of your choice of words, no worries. I have got it up to a little over 90 degrees and I think thats all I'm gonna get. I'm not sure why we need to get over 90 anyways considering all the info I read says that in there natural habitat it doesn't get that hot anyways, other than maybe a couple months in the summer. For example, afghanistans average temp is well below 30 degrees celcius which is what 85 degrees.

 

[Dog Shrink]

I think a lot of it depends on the individual leo honestly. I find mine likes it hotter. He is constantly in his hot hide (I don't think I've ever seen him in his cold hide) and we range between 93-95f most days, and mid 80's at night. As far as how I speak, I think it comes from the behaviorist in me. I tend to be very factual, direct, and to the point. I'm still learning how to put the personal twist on it so I don't sound like an arrogant know it all but apparently not doing too well. Sorry.

 

[EdmontonEskimo]

Hahaha, I hear ya, I fight with that problem too! My leo is quite funny, she is in a 60 gal tank that I had made for dart frogs. It has a concrete covered styrofoam rock wall that I made. I spent like 40 hours on this thing I swear! I had a waterfall made in it as well but filled it with soil and put a couple plants in there but there is a hole at the top and a cavity for the tubing. Well she found this hole and its perfect size for her to hide in. I decided to plug the hole so she cant get in, she decided to come up from the underside and knock the rock loose and poke her head out the top kinda like hmm look what I did She doesn't tend to really hang out on the bottom where the heat is other than when I feed her or she needs a drink. Once I get a camera I will post pics of her setup, it really is pretty cool and she climbs ALL over it unlike what I have read that they don't climb.

 

[Dog Shrink]

That does sound really cool. I'd love to see it, and you'll find a LOT of stories on here about climbing leos. It seems the fair majority are really good climbers. I wish mine was more active But then again we are only going on week 3 together so maybe he's still adjusting and he was tub raised so I think the natural habitat has got him a bit freaked. Sounds like your gal is teh type that might prefer it a little cooler. Do you have a nice hide on the hot side just in case? She might not go there if she doesn't feel there's a secure spot for her to hang out in, know what I mean?

 

[EdmontonEskimo]

Some of the places she tries to climb scare me a bit! I do have a nice hide for her on the"hot" side. Im surprised how active she is considering Ive only had her for about three weeks as well.

 

[Spots]

my UTH is like that too...exoterra.... it only goes to 85...I have a light to get it up to 90 but it still dips low on the colder days/nights. I used to have carpet so the heat was a bit higher but now I have tile so it has a few problems reaching the right temps