UTH Safety

[Miykael81]

Good afternoon folks,

I plan to soon get a baby Leopard Gecko (this will be my first reptile in years, but not my first ever).

I have been soaking up a tremendous amount of information from these forums over the past few days since discovering them(glad I did too!). In preparation for my new arrival, I have been planning out the little one's new home, making sure it is all ready to go and cozy when the day comes.

To start with, I have a 20 Gal Long, and the terrarium is on a steel shelving rack that I had purchased from Home Depot. This brings me (finally) to my concern. The frame of the shelving is steel, but the shelves themselves are made of particle board. I grew up thinking that heat rocks were safe/good and had never heard of UTH. Now that I understand a little more about what UTH is and how it works, I want to make sure that I set everything up properly. I went to Home Depot and asked them if they had metal shelves but they recommended I use cork board to put between the particle board shelf and the tank/UTH/everything.

Is this a good idea? Am I over thinking this? I just want to make sure I do this right(and safely).

Thanks in advance, I appreciate the help.

 

[MischiefManaged]

Hey there,
Congrats on deciding to get a leopard gecko.
I'm guessing that you are worried about a potential fire hazard. I have always used Cobra heat mats because they maintain a steady 100 degrees F. I have used these for years without any damage to the wooden bookshelves they sit on. They can be purchased online or in a reptile shop/show. More commonly available are ZooMed's UTH. These stick to the bottom of the tank and tend to get pretty hot. I used one for my leopard geckos for many years without any problems, but I always kept the tank on melamine and made sure the heat could escape by sticking rubber feet to the bottom of my tank. Hope this helps and good luck with the new gecko!

 

[Miykael81]

Thanks for the tip(and the welcoming).

So does the UTH touch the glass bottom directly or is there a gap?

I have seen others talk of rubber feet or spacers, but I assumed that this was to allow airflow UNDER the UTH/tank.

 

[acpart]

The UTH gets attached to the bottom of the tank. It does come with rubber feet but I don't consider those to be adequate and I use wooden or plastic dominos (or you could also get a few 1" or 2" bathroom tiles). One way to insure that the UTH doesn't get too hot is to get a rheostat, or, preferably, a thermostat

Aliza

 

[Miykael81]

Ok cool thanks,

Does it seem like a good idea to put down some cork board or something down on top of the particle board shelf or do you think think the particle board will be fine?

 

[gothra]

I do use 1 cm thick cork board beneath the UTH for insulating purpose. It diverts all the heat to go upward, instead wasting to heat up the particle board. Depending on which type of UTH you're using, you'll need to leave a small gap somewhere for ventilation. I personally use "ultratherm heatmat" (do not need to stick to the bottom of the tank which is a big plus), and I put rubber feet on the glass tank to lift it 5mm off ground; and then just slip the UTH in between that space. So far so good.