Using thermostats and other questions

[snakenole]

Hello, I have a small collection of BP's in a Vision Rack. I keep mostly colubrids and living in Central Florida, haven't had to worry too much about heating them. But we do have some cold days and nights in the winter so the BP's do need heat. Couple of questions regarding heating:

1. For those of you keeping a small group, that don't have an entire room to heat, do you just use the heat from the racks? Or do you also use a space heater?
2. I've seen people put the thermostats heat probe right up against the heat cable/tape and that's how I've always dont' it with old melamine Matrix rack. but I've also seen people put the probe into an actual tub. What do you think is the most accurate/best method?
3. I've read a lot about potential fires from the thermostat going bad or staying in the ON position permanantly. The Vision racks seem very sturdy and heat duty so I would imagine it would take a lot of heat to actually cause a fire. Plus, I emailed Zoo Med and they said that without a thermostat (or with one that goes bad) the heat cable will only get 110 F, as long as there is no heat impaction. The Vision racks are made to avoid heat impaction. Still, what precautions do you take? I've always used a surge protector but on the Herpstat site there is a warning that some surge protectors will actually cause the thermostat to remain in the ON position. I'm a little nervous since I have dogs at home and just a little paranoid, even though I think these equipment is very safe.

Thanks for any advice. Hope I don't sound paranoid. Just figured it best to be safe than sorry.

[The Serpent Merchant]

I also live in Central Florida and I can tell you BP's require heat year round.

1. Here in central florida most of the time you shouldn't need to use a space heater (as long as the room is above 75 degrees) I just use flexwatt to heat my cages.

2. Placing the probe in the tub will result in the most accurate temperature regulation but placing the probe on the heat tape/ heat rope is the safest method. Personally I place my probes directly on the heat source.

3. The new Herpstat models have multiple failsafes to prevent a thermostat failure in the ON position. Herpstats have the same device used in surge protectors (a fuse) Because of this a surge protector isn't really useful. I would just use a power strip without a surge protector built in. If you are really worried you can set up a second thermostat to act as a failsafe.

Like so:

[kitedemon]

With the new features on the herpstat the exterior probe placement is quite safe. When enabled the tstat will shut down the heat if the probe breaks free. The same for a dedication at least until it warms back to correct temps. Poop is in the mid 80s as this is the core temp of the snake so it only takes a few min to warm.

Other tstats on the market I would 100% recommend a fail safe regardless and would say an interior placement it is NOT optional and must be used.


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[kitedemon]

The features on the hs1+ that is... Anything else or lower need a failsafe for sure.


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[snakenole]

Hi Aaron:
Thanks for the reply. It's helpful to get advice from someone else in the same area. Do you keep yours in a separate room that you also heat? What kind of set up do you have?

Regarding the failsafes on the herpstats, their web site does recommend using a surge protector. But it also cautions against using older or cheaper ones (something I would never take a chance with anyway). I know you can set it for a max so if the tape reaches a certain temp it will auto shut off, right? Same if the probe comes off of the heat cable, it will also shut off, correct? Are these settings you have to make on the unit?

I know I sound a bit paranoid and really I know these things are pretty safe. It seems that issues are pretty rare. And when you watch Youtube videos of some people's set ups they have all these wires and power strips all over the place that have every slot full. It's a wonder you don't hear of issues more often. I really will just have the one small unit (it's just a 5 level) for the BP's. I keep most of my animals in the garage (colubrids, so it's perfect as they cool down in the winter for breeding and stay warm without heat the rest of the year). But with the BP's i'll keep them inside so I can regulate the temp better.

I will definitely upgrade to the Herpstat 1. Right now, I have the old model, the dark green. I don't think it has all these features.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Mike

[kitedemon]

The older models do not have the relay. The high and low settings are tethered to the alarm points. To enable them it is under the setup menue with the relay settings. The feature works the same as the alarm does on the older model but not only does the alarm points trigger the sound it also will power off the heat source as well it can be set to power off only on over temp on both hi and low temps. The multiple outlets can power off all or just one in addition.

A failsafe performs the same function if the probe is pulled free (ends up on the floor for example) the failsafe probe kills the power when the heat source hits a user set over temp. Same for a complete failure.

Complete failures do happen I have had a failure of a helix and a early herpstat. It does and can happen in both cases the failure powered the heat source with no regulation. I personally use the lowest power source that can heat the system so this failure resulted in high temps (the first time lession learned) but not dangerous (110f) too hot but not enough to burn or kill the snakes it was also only for a short time.

The new herpstats are not as likely as the older ones to fail open. They protect against over and under this makes the new hs1+ units the safest on the market and I question if a failsafe is needed but it can not ever hurt.


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[snakenole]

Thank you kitedemon. What heat source do you use? According to the people at Zoo Med, the heat cable that the Vision racks use will only reach 110 if plugged straight into a wall with no thermostat. They did say they can get very hot with heat impaction, like a tank sitting directly on top of a cable but the Vision racks are designed to avoid this. so that shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for the advice on the new Herpstats. Sounds like a great thermostat and with all those features it sounds very safe.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and another dumb question

Is it completely obvious when a thermo has failed? Either it will just be "dead" or the temp display will be way higher than what you wanted, correct?

[The Serpent Merchant]

Hi Aaron:
Thanks for the reply. It's helpful to get advice from someone else in the same area. Do you keep yours in a separate room that you also heat? What kind of set up do you have?

Regarding the failsafes on the herpstats, their web site does recommend using a surge protector. But it also cautions against using older or cheaper ones (something I would never take a chance with anyway). I know you can set it for a max so if the tape reaches a certain temp it will auto shut off, right? Same if the probe comes off of the heat cable, it will also shut off, correct? Are these settings you have to make on the unit?

I know I sound a bit paranoid and really I know these things are pretty safe. It seems that issues are pretty rare. And when you watch Youtube videos of some people's set ups they have all these wires and power strips all over the place that have every slot full. It's a wonder you don't hear of issues more often. I really will just have the one small unit (it's just a 5 level) for the BP's. I keep most of my animals in the garage (colubrids, so it's perfect as they cool down in the winter for breeding and stay warm without heat the rest of the year). But with the BP's i'll keep them inside so I can regulate the temp better.

I will definitely upgrade to the Herpstat 1. Right now, I have the old model, the dark green. I don't think it has all these features.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Mike

I don't use racks so I don't have to heat a room for them, even if I did use racks most of the year I wouldn't need to anyway. My apartment stays around 75 pretty much year round but for those occasional cold nights a heater would be required.

I use PVC cages made by a company called Animal Plastics:



My cages are heated with flexwatt to provide the hot side temperature. They are very well insulated and the air temperature inside typically stays 3-5 degrees above the air temperature of the room so additional heat isn't required.

[kitedemon]

My rack is also running flexwatt. My room is quite cool and I have 4 inch for the warm end and low wattage 17 on the cool. My room in the winter is around the 66 degree mark. I have given serious thought to cable in the rack as cable is water resistant. It would make cleaning easier and safer. Toss up there.


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