I'm a newbie....question about Herpstat 1 set up

Hi Everyone!
I'm new here and a first time BP owner. Thank you for having me. My photos are too large but I'll be adding some soon. I have a normal BP, she's about 3 months old and her name is Una. I love her!

I just got my BP the end of June. Things are going very well. Couldn't have hoped for better. I just bought a Herpstat 1, after a lot of research it's what I decided was the best option for me and my BP. I'll be using it with a heat mat only at this point.

I'm just wondering since the the Safety Tips insert has me all freaked out now. Although I know these are often just cautions I take safety seriously for my BP and the rest of my pets in my home. Hopefully anyone with experience with this unit can tell me if I should be using anything additional with its use. The manual safety tips mentions a surge protector but I'm not sure how necessary something like this is if I'm only using the unit for the heat mat at this point.

Thanks so much!
Nadine

A surge protector is for the protection of the thermostat in the case of a severe thunderstorm or circuit overload in your house/whatever your thermostat is plugged into. I've never, ever experienced a power surge big enough to damage equipment. But most outlet multipliers double as surge protectors and can be had for as little as $10 (just keep in mind you often get what you pay for). I'm paranoid and am constantly running out of outlets, so everything I have is plugged into a surge protector/power strip. I run multiple tubs off a herpstat 1, so I also have a surge protector/outlet multiplier between the heat tape and the thermostat. A crude diagram:

wall outlet -> surge protector/outlet multiplier -> herpstat 1 -> surgeprotector/outlet multiplier -> heat tape

that's awesome! It's what I had in mind but figured there may not be room for error here. Esp where my snake is concerned and I'd rather make it as safe as possible. I guess I'm being paranoid too.

Thanks :)

Your not paranoid if they are out to get you