C Reptitherm UTH for 6 inch deep sand?

[Kermitandplum]

I recently bought a reptitherm UTH heating pad for my hermit crabs, and the manual says that the substrate has to be no deeper than 2 inches. But my crabitat has about 6 inches of sand and cocofiber. Can I still use the heating pad even though my substrate is deeper than it says it can be?

[CrabbyLover77]

Those directions are if you are putting the uth under the tank. For hermits, we don't do this because it can be a fire risk. Uths can overheat trying to warm up through all the sand. The goal is to warm the air anyway. So you want to put the uth on the back and/or side of the tank (make sure not to bend it around a corner), and above the substrate line. If the uth goes a little under the sub line, that's ok too, you might just have to deal with your sand drying out quicker in those areas.

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[Kermitandplum]

Ok! That's what I did, I pasted the pad on the side of the tank, but when I felt around in the air around the heating pad, it didn't feel much warmer. Is it supposed to not warm the air or am I doing something wrong? Ps. I don't have a top for my tank so maybe that means something...??

[CrabbyLover77]

If you don't have a top, there's no way to trap the heat and moisture within the tank. If you don't want to get a lid, wrap the entire top in saran wrap. This will help keep the humidity and temperature at optimal levels.

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[CrabbyLover77]

Also, insulating the uth will help it heat up the air better. I duct tape aluminum foil, shiny side toward the tank, over the entire uth. To insulate it more, you can wrap aluminum foil around cardboard, shiny side out, and tape that over the uth. If you only have one uth, I've found that taping it to the back heats the air better than taping it to a side. Hope this helps.

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