Thermostat failure

Just set up a new enclosure for a new arrival thank goodness it was empty

Checked temps with heat gun before placing and substrate was at 70 degrees c

i was like wtf can’t be right touched it and was like holy crap that’s hot.

Checked the thermostat which is a Komodo on off Mat stat and light was off.

unplugged and turned it to 16 degrees c waiting for Mat to cool down plugged it back in,
boom right up to 45 degrees within a minute.

anyone had any experience with Komodo stats it’s only a couple weeks old.

or can recommend me a better mat stat. ( I’m from the uk)

You've probably got different brands available to you in the UK, so I'll let others offer suggestions. Just glad your enclosure was empty- this is why we always suggest testing a new set-up for at least a week before the new occupant arrives- in case you have to make changes- and so you have time to test it thoroughly. :gj:

Yeah it had been fine for 2 weeks never had any issues been testing daily and checking humidity, the new arrival won’t be here for 2 days any way but it was so hot I had to pull my hand away, 100 percent would have given extremely bad thermal burns if a snake laid on it any length of time


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Originally Posted by Jamiekerk

Yeah it had been fine for 2 weeks never had any issues been testing daily and checking humidity, the new arrival won’t be here for 2 days any way but it was so hot I had to pull my hand away, 100 percent would have given extremely bad thermal burns if a snake laid on it any length of time


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That's just awful to think about what could have happened.

Definetly the thermostat that’s broke the little light on it isn’t even working, I’ll replace the mat and the thermostat to make sure.


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So glad to hear that you set up your enclosure in advance and tested everything, which saved your snake from some nasty burns.

The best thermostats were have here in North America are Herpstats and VE. For Herpstats you would want at least a Herpstat 1 model or higher because those are the ones with all the safety features, and for VE you would want at least a VE-300 model or higher.

I'm not sure if these are available in the UK and they are pretty pricey, but well-worth it imo because they are the single most important piece of equipment for the enclosure which can mean the difference between the life and death of your snake in a matter of hours. A high quality Herpstat or VE-300 will also last a lifetime whereas cheaper thermostats may fail (dangerous for the snake) and need to be replaced every 1-2 years.

If you have different thermostats in the UK, you just want to look for one with the following features:

- High temperature and low temperature safety alarms
- Automatic power off feature for temperature discrepancies that the thermostat can't resolve
- Safety relay to prevent thermostat from failing ON - probably one of the most important things although this is what drives up the price

Just ordered a microclimate evo, ca me used on off, pulse, or dimming, has graphs and temperature alarms.

Seems I can only get the one suggested above from America, looks great but in port fees would be too much


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