ReptiTemp 500R...dilemma

HEY FORUM

I just got a gecko at the Pamona Reptile Super Show (I am QUITE excited), and I got a ReptiTemp 500R so I can manage both the UTH on my snake's and my gecko's cage. This seemed like a good idea, but in practice, it is...not working out quite the way I imagined. My snake's substrate belly temperature is about 93F, and my gecko's is about 80F. Is there some way I can standardize the thermostat so that they're both 90F?

That .."thermostat" only has one probe. It can only control one heat source at a time unless they are both the exact same wattage.

Ooooh. I was thinking that if I "reset" the thermostat to 70F (so the middle line on the dial represents 70F)* I could then slowly increase it until they are both 90F. But since one is 8W and the other is (I believe) 16W, I can never have them both the same? I have a dimmer lying around. Can I incorporate it in some way?

*When the thermostat was registering its "set" temperature, I think it got set to the pad's highest; ~115F, because that's the temperature if I leave the dial set on the middle line.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shootingstar26

But since one is 8W and the other is (I believe) 16W, I can never have them both the same? I have a dimmer lying around.

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This is your answer.

Personally, I would get a second thermostat, or a unit that can control multiple ones. With the dimmers, you can experience temp swings. There are a lot of members here that successfully use dimmer switches for temp control, but I won't do that.