Side Mounted UTH - Why all the hate?

[BeardedAaliyah]

Read First, before posting! Thanks! -Kamille
I've been given very negative opinions on a side mounted UTH, but in my opinion, for some snakes, it's better than using them under tank.
When reading the instructions for a UTH, the side mount was a safety preferred method, and after attaching it to the side, it was the perfect arrangement for my corn, Apollo. His substrate is about 5 inches thick (he loves to burrow, but is on top half the time, begging for attention ), so using it undertank would be ridiculous, as it would not heat his ambient temperatures well enough for it to be in the preferred range. With it on the side, the temperature is perfect. He also has a bulb to give him the proper lighting, as cornsnakes are diurnal and the light in my room fluctuates too much for normal daylight. :roll:

There is such negativity concerning side mounted UTH and using bulbs in snake cages. If it works perfectly well for the snake, why all the negativity? Granted, a beginner may not know what is proper and what is not for their snake, but scaring them out of something or inducing them to point out the flaws in someone else's tank setup is ridiculous.

What's your opinion on the matter?

 

[AtlasStrike]

Most snakes do not bask, so a basic set up for them contains no lights. Because they use the surface temperature of the substrate to absorb heat from their ventral side, a UTH mounted on the bottom provides the most effective ventral or "belly" heat for snakes to digest. A side mounted UTH may raise ambient temperatures slightly, but without an overhead heat source, it is often below optimal because of the lack of direct contact. If ambient temperatures are not well monitored, the snake is at a greater risk for digestive issues or regurgitation. It is also very easy for snakes like corns to simply put the hide over a regulated UTH and leave them be and they will thrive being as their temperature and humidity requirements are quite flexible. The hate is mostly because it is a less efficient method, and most of us want to keep things as cheap and simple as possible.

Plastic tub, thermometer, rheostat, UTH, hide and substrate is all you need to make for happy snakes.

 

[Floof]

First, I would like to note that corns aren't diurnal. If you have one that's active during the day, that's great... But corns, as a general rule, are crepuscular at best. They don't generally come out during the day, and don't need supplemental light on their enclosures. All a heat lamp, specifically, does is dry out the enclosure, hence why people tend to "hate" on heat lamps for snakes. They suck out all that humidity, often causing even the hardiest, most dry-tolerant snakes to have atrocious sheds (Corn snakes fall into this category, among others).

Second, +1 to AtlasStrike's post. Side-mounted UTHs, as well as heat lamps, are inefficient both for the keeper's wallet (electric bill--need more wattage to get temps where they need to be) and for the snake's ability to absorb that heat.

Third, you need to read between the lines on the UTH package: The reason they recommend side-mounting is that they know very well, the majority of people buying their product have no idea what a rheostat or thermostat is, and that those people are just going to slap that heat pad on the tank, plug it directly into the wall, and neglect to check temperatures, ever, until it leads to utter disaster (i.e., catching something beneath on fire--I've heard of at least one keeper finding their carpet smoldering because they had a snake tank a few inches above the floor with an unregulated uth--or severely burning their snake). Or those people will get lucky and their snakes will simply scrape by surviving by keeping to the fringes of their way too hot heating pad.

A properly regulated UTH mounted on the bottom of your snake's enclosure is going to be very much preferred over side-mounting. UTHs don't project heat very far, so when you side-mount a UTH, the snake has to lay very close or, worse, right up against it to get the warmth they need. Hence, hating over side-mounted UTHs.

I will admit to using CHEs over snakes every now and again. If you do it right (careful monitoring, a thermostat/rheostat if temps tend to be unstable, misting if things get too dry at shed time), there's nothing wrong with overhead heat. (At least for me, it's the light part, with a regular heat lamp, that's so objectionable.) Goodness knows, some species need it--Arboreal snakes, for example, aren't going to get anything out of bottom-mounted heat, and, if your house is very cold and you have something sensitive about temps like a ball python, you may need a CHE or the like to supplement a heat pad. But, when it comes to corn snakes and other such primarily terrestrial species, properly regulated belly heat is, as a general rule, going to be your better option.

Hope that helps clear things up some.

 

[BeardedAaliyah]

I can understand where y'all are coming from. I've never had an issue, but it may simply be because I monitor my corn very closely. He has no problem with humidity, but the bulb we sometimes use is a very low wattage and contributes liitle heat, which may be why.


It truly depends on the snake and situation, but I can see why most would use it under the tank.

While it may be best for most, in my situation, the side mounting for Apollo's tank is perfect. My ball, however, loves his belly heat. His previous owner didn't have a thermostat for him, so we're picking one up tomorow. His bask spot got around 116+ when we monitored his temps. He's good about regulating, though, which is why he was fine for the three years she had him. Poor guy, glad he didn't soak too much to compensate.