UTH & Heat Probes

[Scubadiver59]

I'm using two 40gal terrariums and one 20gal terrarium (my quarantine tank).

One thing I've noticed...all the heat probes that you're supposed to place between the UTH and the bottom of the enclosure cause a significant loss of heat in that area of the probe--the probe causes a large gap where the UTH loses contact, and in the case of a small UTH, that's almost 20-30% of the contact with the terrarium and that's a lot of heat lost. The major problem is that the probes are always cylindrical in nature and most are rather thick.

Eventually I'll go the larger PVC enclosure route, but until my snakes get >4ft in size the 40gal enclosures will have to do. The 40gal-sized UTHs still lose a fair amount of contact but it's acceptable.

How can I avoid this heat loss besides using a larger UTH? Should I use heat tape? Or should I use lights only? Can I press the UTH completely to the outside glass and then put the probe inside the enclosure and silicon caulk it to the bottom of the enclosure since I know tape is out of the question.

Suggestions?