What thermostat/ where to buy?

[clawlan]

Ok, so I'm looking into thermostats and have heard that the Helix DBS-1000 and Hepstat are the way to go. What do you reccomend? Where should I buy one of these? Also, how would these work with a night cycle where temperatures come down?

EDIT: I'm on the herpstat website right now. looks like they have a nightdrop feature.

[Kagez28]

you would only use a night drop if you are breeding.

if you are just keeping snakes, with no plan to breed them, i would go with an on/off style thermostat. ranco or johnson control make some very good ones, and they are cheaper then the proportional herpstat and helix. there are many threads around this forum that talk about all the features and stuff about thermostat. i'm sure someone will be along posting some links.

i use johnson control A419 and i love them.

[Kagez28]

also check out reptilebasics.com, Rich offers thermostats at very good prices.

also mgreptiles.com sell them, you can also check out ebay but it's rare

[clawlan]

hm. so proportional is not really necessary? I just want to make sure my captives are as happy and healthy as possible. I am used to keeping fish and temperature swings are very stressful for them. But if a BP doesn't mind, then an on/off thermostat might be the economical way to go.

Also, what do you recommend for heating? I see some with lights, some with the lightless ceramic heaters. What do you think?

[Kagez28]

temperature swings are not good for a ball python. but with a on/off thermostat the swing will be like 3 degrees. if you set it at 92 with a 1 deg differential, then it'll heat till 92 shut off, and when it drops below 91 it'll turn back on, so no swings. i use flexwatt for my ball's tank. i have a 75 watt red light that i use in the winter to keep the ambiant temps up. but right now i have on the warm side, flexwatt (from reptilebasics.com) on a johnson control thermostat set at 92 with a 2 deg diff. and on the cool side a 4" piece of flexwatt on a rheostat (dimmer) to keep it at about 82-84 degreese. i am thinking of putting an old zoo med thermostat on the cool side once i get my rack. hope that helps

[clawlan]

I'm looking at the flexwatt now. Is that just like an UTH pad? You just attach it to the bottom of the tank?

[twh]

HERPSTAT / BEAN FARM stay away from MG reptiles,he has a well documented history of poor customer service.

as far as a heat source, what are you heating ?

[twh]

BTW the folks at the bean farm can recommend a heat source,they are very nice to work with and carry a complete line of heat sources.

[clawlan]

HERPSTAT / BEAN FARM stay away from MG reptiles,he has a well documented history of poor customer service.

as far as a heat source, what are you heating ?

I will be heating a glass tank with a juvenile BP, who will grow to become an adult.

[clawlan]

ok, at this point, I am thinking about getting 2 on/off thermostats (One for warm side, one for cool side). Any preference between the Johnson Controls A419 and the Ranco ETC-111000?