UTH problem

[yannickvanhex]

Yesterday I bought an UTH op 20W and about 16inch/12inch .

I'm getting my terrarium and substrate in about a week so I decided to test it with an Aquarium and a hempsubstrate of my russian hamster.

When it's plugged in for about an hour, the temperature directly on the bottom (so without substrate) is about 90 , and if I put the thermometer on his side, so about 2 inches off the glass, it's about 73, and when I put it on the substrate (the most important measurement), it's about 77-78 degrees.
How's this possible ? Because the store owner said it was for reptiles such as Gecko's (got it in a reptile shop so I reckon he's pretty experienced).

I'm going to let it heat for some time, and if the temp climbs, I'll post it! :main_thumbsup:

 

[Khrysty]

You should probably go with a thin substrate (shelf liner or paper towel for instance). You want that temp close to 90--possibly above if you can get it to climb higher.

 

[yannickvanhex]

Yeah but when I get my Gecko I'm planning to use repti-sand , and I don't want to back off from that idea (sorry for if my english is a bit confusing, but I'm from Belgium and I'm not that perfect in the use of specified words )

 

[Khrysty]

Repti-sand may not be the best idea. If you're set on using sand, you should use fine grain play sand instead.

I don't, however, recommend sand.

Aside from the health risks involved, if your substrate doesn't heat up to the proper temperature, your gecko could have trouble digesting its food and thus not get the proper nutrition.

And don't worry about your English, it's fine

 

[yannickvanhex]

I'm familiar with the risks but I've been reading a lot and comparing and I've come to the conclusion that if you feed them enough and give enough vitamins (calcium,..) they should not eat from the substrate, although they can always eat some during the hunt. So it's best to use the smallest sand possible, in order tof them to digest it better.

But besides the substrate, I expect the UTH to be hot enough, as told by the store keeper, So I'm wondering if there might be something wrong with it?

I've narrowed the hemp substrate to just under half an inch and the temperature has come up to 82

 

[Khrysty]

What brand is the UTH?

 

[yannickvanhex]

It doesn't mention, I reckon it's something from the store itself ( http://www.gekko-reptiles.be/ , caution , it's a dutch site so you probably won't be able to read it )
I've send a mail to confirm which brand it is, but I think I won't get a reply until tomorrow because here it's already 7 pm

 

[RampantReptiles]

I am pretty sure with Zoo med brand UTH with a bare bottom tank that the temps usually got to at least 100F.

If your using sand and the UTH isnt enough you will have to get a heat lamp to supplement. I know that when I worked at a pet store and a person was going to use sand a UTH was not enough to heat so a heat lamp was required.

 

[Tony C]

Repti-sand may not be the best idea. If you're set on using sand, you should use fine grain play sand instead.

If the repti-sand over there is the same as ours by zoo med, then it is actually one of the better choices because it is a natural, fine-grained quartz sand. Way overpriced compared to play sand, but it is not a calcium based sand.

 

[yannickvanhex]

Yes we also use Zoo Med and Exo Terra, thank you

 

[yannickvanhex]

Ok I just put a little bit of catsand in it to replicate the substrate, and the floortemperature on the hot side is now 90 degrees, it' begin to look like something good