Why Thermostats are ESSENTIAL!!!

[Zuma22]

Decided to do a little experiment with a mini ZooMed UTH plugged right into the wall and wanted to share.

Do not ever leave any sort of heating pad unregulated. Thermostats are as essential as food and water. If you think substrate will provide a barrier, wait until your animal burrows and moves the substrate around - not to mention the temps I was getting on top of this substrate were at least 120. Not worth it.




Rant over

[MarkS]

I had a mini zoo med UTH once on one of those plastic critter keepers. It melted a hole right through the bottom. Even a Rheostat (dimmer switch) will help. Not as good as a thermostat but a whole lot better then nothing.

[Willie76]

I still find it simply appalling that one can't even FIND a thermostat in a big box store yet they sell the animal, the UTHs, and enclosures. The manufacturers of these products don't even mention the need for a thermostat to properly regulate these heat sources ANYWHERE on the packaging. Both of these institutions are proported experts at what your reptile needs yet so blind and give out so much dated, mis-information that it's ridiculous! I even found heat rocks next to the Zilla snake enclosures at a PetSmart. I know for them it is about the almighty dollar but how can you in good conscious knowingly sell such a dangerous product that WILL burn your animal if it's not regulated? I sincerely think the animal care directors for these companies need to come here and re-educate themselves on how to properly care for a snake and then REQUIRE the purchase of a thermostat with any snake purchase.

[dillan2020]

What should happen is zoomed and other heat mat manufacturers should make their heat mats with a built in thermostat. just like you can set the temp on a fish tank heater theses heat mats made just for reptiles should be the same way.

[TheSnakeGuy]

This is exactly I stress the importance of a tstat when selling UTHs at my PetSmart. I often write down what to search for on amazon to find at least the hydrofarm tstat for single terrarium homes. No cooked reptiles on my watch.

Unregulated thermostats are like house bowling balls, drilled to fit everyone but no one.

[SquamishSerpents]

Thank you!

[OctagonGecko729]

What should happen is zoomed and other heat mat manufacturers should make their heat mats with a built in thermostat. just like you can set the temp on a fish tank heater theses heat mats made just for reptiles should be the same way.

You could also just figure out a way to make a heatpad only produce say 100F of heat. This would make it alot safer and alot cheaper for new folks getting into the hobby. Don't the ultratherms run cooler then everything else out there?

[DJF1990]

Not only is it mandatory to regulate heat with a t-stat, its also incredibly important to have an actual herpetology grade t-stat. I didnt realize this a few years ago when i built my 1st incubator (used a non proportional e-bay special t-stat.) when i would test it before the clutch was laid, i would notice a 10 degree F fluctuation. After realizing this, i new the t-stat was not suitable for my bator i ordered a herpstat and never looked back.

[Darkbird]

I still find it simply appalling that one can't even FIND a thermostat in a big box store yet they sell the animal, the UTHs, and enclosures. The manufacturers of these products don't even mention the need for a thermostat to properly regulate these heat sources ANYWHERE on the packaging.

Actually the reasoning is quite simple. Just like the screen lids that are still marketed for reptiles even though they were designed for rodents, unregulated heating devices are cheap to produce and have a high profit margin for these companies. Adding a t-stat to these items would actually be pretty simple, but would drive up the cost and slow down sales. I mean come on, they wouldn't get to sell to all the impulse buyers if that $29.99 heat rock suddenly started costing $129.99 be theycause of the addition of a quality thermostat. Plus it would then last practically forever, which would kill repeat sales. These companies know exactly what is needed for these animals, but sadly profit will always overrule what is right. There is also the sad fact of the idea of the disposable pet, which to many people herps qualify as, same as the two dollar goldfish. Think about it, if you told a complete stranger your dog died your almost certain get get some sympathy. If you tell them your snake died you might just get a response like "Good." or "Go buy another one". unless we can change peoples perceptions, and get them to quit buying these poorly made products, this kind of thing will continue. Ok, sorry, rant over now.