Humidity

[GotButterflies]

Agreed. When people use the UTHs for reptiles, they place these on the bottom of the tanks or cages. Placing them under the substrate is a fire hazard.

We use them on the back of tank, like Hermiesguardian mentioned, to heat the air. I personally don’t have it overlap the substrate, but some do.


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Thank you! Would it be best to get 11" by 47" or 2 11" by 35" tank is 6 ft long

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Well, IMO a lot depends on where you live, and where you have the crabs. For example - I live in Florida. The weather here is beautiful a vast majority of the year. We really don't have a winter. All four of my crabitats are kept in a room with a couple of other reptiles, so the room that they are in is relatively warm all of the time. Therefore, I didn't need an UTH to cover the entire back of my tank as is recommended. (My temp goes to 79 low at night to 85/86 during day) Factor those things in, and then decide. During the winter months you will insulate your UTH using Reflectix. It is a product you can purchase for $15 at Lowes or Home Depot - it looks like an old car shade. It can be hung with packaging tape, duct tape or reflectix tape. It can also be used year after year or year round if needed. If you don't have the extra $15, you can use aluminum foil (shiny side facing in the tank), then cardboard, and or styrofoam. I hope this helps you!

[Just_saving_crabs]

Agreed. When people use the UTHs for reptiles, they place these on the bottom of the tanks or cages. Placing them under the substrate is a fire hazard.

We use them on the back of tank, like Hermiesguardian mentioned, to heat the air. I personally don’t have it overlap the substrate, but some do.


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Thank you! Would it be best to get 11" by 47" or 2 11" by 35" tank is 6 ft long

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Well, IMO a lot depends on where you live, and where you have the crabs. For example - I live in Florida. The weather here is beautiful a vast majority of the year. We really don't have a winter. All four of my crabitats are kept in a room with a couple of other reptiles, so the room that they are in is relatively warm all of the time. Therefore, I didn't need an UTH to cover the entire back of my tank as is recommended. (My temp goes to 79 low at night to 85/86 during day) Factor those things in, and then decide. During the winter months you will insulate your UTH using Reflectix. It is a product you can purchase for $15 at Lowes or Home Depot - it looks like an old car shade. It can be hung with packaging tape, duct tape or reflectix tape. It can also be used year after year or year round if needed. If you don't have the extra $15, you can use aluminum foil (shiny side facing in the tank), then cardboard, and or styrofoam. I hope this helps you!

We are brand new to the area so I'm not sure what weather in winter is like here. I know our house sucks at keeping it warm though. So I would guess I may need to cover the entire back and add some to the sides if needed later on.

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[GotButterflies]

You are better to cover the entire back then. Just so you know, you cannot bend those. You would be surprised how well they warm the tank up! Especially when they are insulated!

Edit: I have a thermostat on one of my tanks.

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[piratetoothgir]

They really do heat well! I have my 55 covered by the 47x11 size, and it’s not insulated. I didn’t even need it to be when I got it, the heat just kept flowing!

I am pretty sure my substrate is higher than the heater by just a half inch or so, not bothering anything.

[Just_saving_crabs]

LOL!! Understandable!! You cannot get the correct UTH from petco. You would have to order it - http://www.reptilebasics.com or http://www.beanfarm.com

Edit: These can be insulated in the winter months which will help keep your tank warm. HIGHLY recommend either of these brands!
Edit #2: You would tape them to the back of your tank using packaging tape You can use duct tape too - it just looks prettier with packaging tape because it's clear.

Will I need an rheostat as well?

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[wodesorel]

Because they are used on the back to heat the air, a rheostat or thermostat is not usually needed. You can pretty much control the temp through insulation alone.