More questions...

[kriegsmom]

I've been asking a lot of dumb questions recently so, I apologize in advance.
1. Can I use a hydrofarm thermostat on racks with reptile basics heat tape? I want to get a herpstat but, I simply can't afford it. I also plan on building 4 or more racks and buying a herpstat for each one of those is ridiculous. I'd rather spend $30 on a thermostat rather than $100 plus.
2. Will breeding my snake change him? I plan on breeding my pastel male but, he is my pet and I've had him for a while. If it's going to change him in anyway, I'll simply buy another pastel male.
3. Any downside to melamine other than weight? If there are downsides, what material do you recommend?

Thank you.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

1/ Depends on the wattage, just keep in mind cheap thermostat such as hydrofarm are prone to failure and when they do they usually fail wide open.

Investing in a quality t-stat which start $85 will give you the piece of mind, there are things you should not cut corner on t-stat are one of them.

When you think about price take in consideration safety and also the life or your t-stat 1 year or 2 years for an hydrofarm vs 10 years for an herpstat.

2/ No

3/ Over the year melamine will start sagging (been there done that), once it does you will have to build a new rack, PVC is lighter, does not sag and is fire retardant .

Food for the thoughts

This is not a cheap hobby, breeding cost money so make sure that you are prepared to spend and lose money, you may make a return and have your hobby pay for itself at some point but you will have to be smart about it to do so, breeding a pastel male will not get you there and you will lose money and since you mention not being able to afford a reliable t-stat this is something you need to seriously think about.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Deborah hit every one of them as usual.

On the thermostat, you can run multiple racks on a good thermostat as long as you make sure all the heat sources are IDENTICAL and you do not go over the wattage rating for the thermostat.

[distaff]

I'm not sure how much wattage a Hydrofarm can take. A rack might be too much.

I have two Hydrofarms, and don't care for them. The on/off function makes temps vary too much. (The Hydrofarms will get used to germinate tomatoes this spring, like they were designed for.)

[Megg]

I have a few hydrofarms, and I personally wouldn't use them for a whole rack. I just don't think they're reliable enough.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

[Sauzo]

Sure a Hydrofarm will work but remember, you get what you pay for. A thermostat would be the last thing i'd go cheap on personally since that is the most important part. Think about how much a vet a bill will cost for a burned snake or snakeS not to mention the pain and suffering of the animal plus the headache you will go through. If you are just using this on racks, you can go with something like a Herpstat Intro+. Those are dimming T-stats and cost about $110. I personally use a Herpstat 1 and a Herpstat 2. Again, bottom line is would you rather spend $100-200 and have peace of mind or spend $25 and play Russian roulette with possibly dead snakes or hundreds of dollars in vet bills plus all the headaches that cant be translated to money.