under tank heater and substrate

Question
QUESTION: Hello. i have some substrate i use for my hamster and i'm not entirely sure if its aspen or not. how do i know if my substrate is aspen (and not something dangerous like cedar or pine?)
Also, i recently bought a used Fuker's under tank heater that didn't come with instructions and i was wondering if you knew how to use it? (if one side is adhesive or not, how much substrate i need on the bottom of my tank etc.)

ANSWER: I've never used a Fuker's heat pad before. Usually, if one side has an adhesive, you should be able to peel the backing off (like it should be a piece of paper). If not it might just sit under the tank. For substrate, I usually use about an inch of aspen. You can make it deeper though if you'd like. The snake will most likely hide under it.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thank you. do you know if i need to elevate my UTH a little so the heat escapes? or am i just allowed to peu it plat again a table. also, is it bad to put an under tank heater on a glass table?

Answer
It should be fine against a glass table. The only thing that I would be concerned about is the temperature inside the aquarium right against the glass. The snake is probably going to want to burrow under the substrate, and possibly lay on the glass bottom of the aquarium. If you aren't using a thermostat on the heat pad, it could get quite hot, depending on the heat pad you are using. So you will need to measure the maximum temp inside the cage against the bottom and make sure it's not above around 85 degrees. If it is, then you will need to either use a thermostat to control the temp (best thing to do) or find a way to distance the pad from where the snake can get to but adding some space between the heat pad and the bottom of the aquarium.