Getting back into snakes. Thermostats?

So, years ago, I sold off just about everything I had.
I had 3 snakes left 2 BPs and my corn. I left for a week and a half. At some point my thermostat freaked out and cooked my snakes.
I had a prewired Ranco from reptile baisics. It had worked great for a couple years. I guess it shorted out.

Anyways, That experience left a bad taste in my mouth and I stayed away from snakes for a while. My daughter, 6, Wants a snake now. Probably my fault lol. I figure, why not 2. I'm gonna split my 30 gallon glass tank down the middle to house 2 small snakes for the time being. Considering Balls, small boas, or garters. Gonna run heat tape down the middle, under the tank and probably put a piece in my divider.

I need recommendations for a solid, reliable, not super expensive thermostat taht can run 2-4 pieces of heat tape.

I can 'research' all day but I'd rather hear from the people that use them.

What do you consider super expensive? My first pick would be a spyder robotics Herpstat 1 $140 or if you need 2 different temps then the Herpstat 2 $240. Then there's the ve-200 from reptile basics for $115. Those are proportional. If those are to much you will need to get an on/off. Good on/off ve-100 for $85. If you need cheaper then look for an on/off that will only drop 1 degree before heating again.

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Keep in mind that if you decide to use a single thermostat for multiple pieces of heat tape, the pieces of tape you're using MUST be identical (same length, wattage, etc), otherwise you will need a separate thermostat for each of them.

Personally, I only use and recommend the Herpstat brand.

Another vote for Herpstat. Reliable and worth the cash.

I use VE-200 backed up by VE-100 and don't ever worry about malfunctions. Instead of putting all your eggs in one basket, get a pair of thermostats you can afford. My backup is on/off while my main is proportional. Another option is to go with a species of snake that does well in ambient house temperatures. I don't have additional heat on my pituophis or thamnophis and they thrive.

Hey guys.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Seems like there isn't much to choose from lol


I have multiple sheets of older flexwatt with the zig zag pattern from my old setup. Should have 5-6 sheets.. hopefully.. At least have 3.
They are about the size of a sheet of printer paper. I had them under and rolled up the back of the tubs I used in my little rack I had built. and under the glass tank for my corn snake.
I still can't believe the Ranco thermostat failed the way it did. made me sad -_-. I came home and it was set to the highest setting, in the middle of summer. 220 degrees.

For now I may go with a ve-100 for price/simplicity and get a bigger/nicer one when/if I get a new rack setup.

With shipping it will be around $92 if you get it from reptile basics, should just spend the extra $23 and get the the ve-200 pulse proportional or the the ve-200d dimming proportional and since they are over $100 you get free shipping. You would only need the dimming if you were going to ever use a light emitting heat source (will also work for no light emitting), other then that the pulse would be great for anything that is non light emitting. The ve-100 shouldn't be used for light emitting heat sources either. I have been testing the ve-300 pulse proportional (same as the ve-200 just has extra features) for about a month now and I'm really impressed with it.

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I dunno about the VE line, but the herpstats (all but the intro I think) have the safety feature where if it malfuctions, it'll just shut off. Having experienced hsving a t-stat cook your snakes, something to think about.

If it were me, I would go with Herpstat... which ever size you need for your plans. I would also get rid of the heat tape you have and get new. True, it may have been your thermostat that went bad before, but if by some chance it was the heat tape, or if the heat tape was damaged because of it, you could risk another "incident". If you're going to invest in a new thermostat and new snakes, $50 more for new heat tape is a drop in the bucket.

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Originally Posted by HanabiraAsashi

I dunno about the VE line, but the herpstats (all but the intro I think) have the safety feature where if it malfuctions, it'll just shut off. Having experienced hsving a t-stat cook your snakes, something to think about.

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The herpstat 1 basic and intro don't have safety relays. They make an intro+ that does.

The VE line is not a bad choice, they all have safety relays except for the hobbystat.

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