Two heat sources on one thermostat?

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Originally Posted by Red357

Is a CHE a light bulb?

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It's a type of bulb that doesn't produce light. Google ceramic heat emitter to see what it looks like.

This temperature thing is stressing me out a bit. So...basically the best solution is to continue to run that UTH with the thermostat (even though I'm only getting a reading in the warm hide area of 85°)? Then place a CHE on top and let that run to get ambient temperature in the tank of about 80? Or is 90 like the snake requires?

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Imo CHE for a 20 gallon long is an overkill. Those things get so hot even with a t-stat. Can you move the enclosure to a 77-80F room temp in the house? That could easily solve that problem. Make sure that the CHE bulb goes to a fixture just for such bulbs.

Your warm spot should be about 88F and no higher than 90F which would be created by your UTH.

Both needs to be on t-stats. The t-stat for the CHE should be one that operates as a dimmer. Not all t-stats are created equally. Most are sold as pulse or on/off which works great with UTH. If you can afford it, I would invest in a Herpstat 2 which will help you control temps for the UTH and CHE separately and it comes with a function choice: dimming or pulse.

Going to second Cheesenugget's suggestion to invest in the Herpstat 2 when you are able. It appears as though you may have just purchased the exo terra, but I am using a herpstat 4 right now and can tell you that I would spend the money again in a heartbeat it has a ton of features, but most importantly it has redundant safety relays that you just won't find on a model like the exo terra. Thermostats have a tendancy to fail in the 'on' position which in some circumstances can overheat an enclosure or rack enough to kill the occupants (or worse, cause a fire safety hazard, depending on the heat source being used). Herpstats, from what I could tell, have the most sophisticated safety relays in the industry to ensure that if they fail, they fail off, not on. Much safer for you and your reptiles.

The Herpstat two is two thermostats in one, so you can set two temperatures for two heaters (two user replaceable probes as well). That makes the price, perhaps, a little easier to stomach because you would only need to purchase one tool to do both jobs.

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Originally Posted by Cheesenugget

Imo CHE for a 20 gallon long is an overkill. Those things get so hot even with a t-stat. Can you move the enclosure to a 77-80F room temp in the house? That could easily solve that problem. Make sure that the CHE bulb goes to a fixture just for such bulbs.

Your warm spot should be about 88F and no higher than 90F which would be created by your UTH.

Both needs to be on t-stats. The t-stat for the CHE should be one that operates as a dimmer. Not all t-stats are created equally. Most are sold as pulse or on/off which works great with UTH. If you can afford it, I would invest in a Herpstat 2 which will help you control temps for the UTH and CHE separately and it comes with a function choice: dimming or pulse.

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This thermo actually works by dimming or pulse. Not on / off. I’ll see how it works. If it sucks I’ll definitely look into the herpstat. Thanks!


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I know what the ambient temps should be on both sides. But what should the UTH temp be set to?


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Originally Posted by mikemooch

I know what the ambient temps should be on both sides. But what should the UTH temp be set to?


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You'll have to tinker with it a bit and figure it out through trial and error. There are too many variables for there to be one cookie cutter answer.
For for example, I have 4 set at different temps from 92-96 to achieve my desired hot spots.

I would probably start at 92 and go from there. Just check the surface temp periodically and you'll have it dialed in in no time. :gj:

I guess what I’m asking is, what is safe for the snake? Let’s say he burrows through the bedding & he’s on bare glass. What is warm enough but won’t burn him?


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Originally Posted by mikemooch

I guess what I’m asking is, what is safe for the snake? Let’s say he burrows through the bedding & he’s on bare glass. What is warm enough but won’t burn him?


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That's why it's important to measure the ACTUAL SURFACE TEMP. Snakes burrow and push substrate around and lay directly on the surface.
Your hot spot surface temp should be 89-90.

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Originally Posted by mikemooch

This thermo actually works by dimming or pulse. Not on / off. I’ll see how it works. If it sucks I’ll definitely look into the herpstat. Thanks!


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I actually bought two of those 600w thermostats about a month ago and like them a lot for the price. Did you set both day and night temperatures on the thermostat? I'm betting you only set one and that's why you're getting low temps.

Ambient temp around the cage should be 80ish. The hot spot that you get from the uth should be 88-90f. You need to measure the surface of the glass to get that temp, not the substrate.