Your Opinion On Thermostats?

I've seen a lot of suggestions on this forum about what type of thermostats are popular, but I wanted to get a consolidated thread of everyone's opinions before I go out and spend hundreds of dollars on the top market one. As my username suggests, I don't know a whole lot about snakes and husbandry yet so bear with me!

I want to get a Herpstat 2 so that I can regulate my UTH and heat lamp simultaneously. I only have one enclosure though so I was wondering if this would be excessive. I saw someone on another thread suggest a cheap non-proportional thermostat for the UTH and a light dimmer for the lamp. While that would be more cost effective, I really like the idea of just hooking them up to one unit and having accurate regulation.

Do you guys think it would be worth while to go ahead and spend the money on a Herpstat, or would the cheaper alternative make more sense for my situation?

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Originally Posted by Snake_Newb

Do you guys think it would be worth while to go ahead and spend the money on a Herpstat, or would the cheaper alternative make more sense for my situation?

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For my money, there isn't a better thermostat available that will both keep my temperatures on par and give me the piece of mind I need in order to not worry about the "what-ifs" of a lesser quality thermostat. I'm not the one spending your money though. ;)

Most T-Stats will not work correctly with bulbs. I would get a T-Stat for your mat and a dimmer for the bulb.

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Originally Posted by jclaiborne

Most T-Stats will not work correctly with bulbs. I would get a T-Stat for your mat and a dimmer for the bulb.

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I disagree. If you have a good tstat it should work a bulb or CHE just fine. I have had to issue with doing it. The most important part in doing so is the placement of the probe and the type of bulb being used. Spot vs. Flood. It is also equally important you set the tstat up correctly to work with the heating equipment you are using.

OP, I have four Herpstats so I think you can figure out my vote. A Herpstat2 will control a lamp and uth great.

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Originally Posted by KMG

The most important part in doing so is the placement of the probe and the type of bulb being used.

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Where would you suggest placing the probe? I use a red light.

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Originally Posted by Snake_Newb

Where would you suggest placing the probe? I use a red light.

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Many things come into play with this and it is really best to dial it in without the snake in the cage.

With a over head light or CHE I personally like to keep the probe outside the cage and somewhere in the path of the heat. Depending on the type of light fixture you are using you may be able to hang it from the rim of the fixture. You can also get some stiff wire that you can bend to the dimensions you need and then attach it to something sturdy, ie lamp stand, back of cage, light fixture.

If your setup does not allow for this it is a common practice to hang the probe and allow it to dangle on the side of the enclosure. I personally like to keep the probe as close to the path of heat as possible. For example if I have a heat lamp pointing at a warm hide I would try to place the hide near the back wall and then dangle the probe on the wall just behind it.

If you dangle it you want the probe to be about one to two inches from the top of the substrate. You also want to maintain a clear path between the heat source and the probe. Do not hang or place plants around the probe or any other object that the snake can move and block the probe from reading the heat correctly. It may not seem like much for a leaf to block some heat but it could be all that is needed to quickly over heat the enclosure or hotspot.

When you are dialing something like this in start by setting the tstat really low. Since the probe is not close to the bulb or the path of heat it is will be reading a much lower temp than the actual area being heated(the area under the heating device). This is extremely important when using a spot light bulb over the regular flooding style bulb. Usually a regular bulb works fine unless the fixture is a far distance from the surface you are trying to heat. An example of that is having a really tall cage where the heat source is more than two feet from the hotspot.

When dialing this in a IR temp gun is a must. They are cheap on Amazon and are a keepers best friend. You can save a lot of money by buying a good IR temp gun instead of using cheap thermometers that only end up breaking. Using a temp gun you can quickly and easily check every area in the cage and make sure you have the hotspot correct and no danger zones be that hot or cold. This will make the setup much easier.

When adjusting the tstat give it a full hour between changes as the heat source needs time to reach and rest at the set temp. After you are sure the numbers are steady make another adjustment until you get it where you want it. Also over this period a tip is keep the room temp steady as if it is fluctuating the tstat will be working against it. This is not an issue after you get the system set up as the tstat will do its job and adjust. Its just important while setting it up the room temps stays constant.

Also make sure your snake cage does not set in a location that takes a beating from the sun at any point during the day. The sun can really warm a cage and even with a tstat it can really mess with your temps.

Lots of good info, thanks for the advice!

The newer Herpstats have a heat lamp function setting. I use it for my CHE on my JCP is her temporary cage and it works awesome. My advice is buy the best T-stat you can afford since that is the single most important item. It will keep or reduce burns on your reptiles and chances of fire in your house. I vote Herpstats personally as that's what I use but VEs are good too but don't have as much bells and whistles as Herpstats. Also I am not sure if VEs have upgradable firmware like Herpstats do. I say go for a Herpstat 2. It will allow you to do what you want and if you don't need it now, you always have that extra slot for if/when you get another reptile.

My two cents is to always buy a thermostat with multiple zone functions. You may start off only needing one zone for one rack but if you think there is even a chance you will have multiple racks or tanks in the future, it's much cheaper to have one t-stat with multiple zones than to buy two single zone t-stats.

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Originally Posted by Sauzo

The newer Herpstats have a heat lamp function setting. I use it for my CHE on my JCP is her temporary cage and it works awesome.

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Not to detail the thread, but what function are you talking about? Mine have a dimming and pulse option for heating. Are you referring to those or something different?


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