ReptiTemp 500R

Right now I'm borrowing a thermostat from a friend of mine to control my UTH, but I need to get my own ASAP. I'm considering the ReptiTemp 500R, as I've heard good things about it, and I was wondering if anyone here has used that? I am NOT technologically or electrically savvy by any stretch of the imagination, and it says that there's nothing to wire in or anything like you have to with the Ranco...is that true? Is it simple to set up?

Aaand I'm going to throw in another question here instead of making a new thread. Right now I have my baby BP in a plastic tub (about 2x1.5 feet) with newspaper on the bottom, and I can't get the humidity level up high enough for anything. I do have a small water dish, but it doesn't seem to be helping too much (even when placed over the UTH). If I were using substrate I would be able to mist it without worrying, but I'm afraid that the wet newspaper will be bad for the snake. Should I be worrying about that? Is there anything else I can do to get the humidity up?

You can buy Ranco's pre-wired from someplace like Reptile Basics.

The thing with the 500R is that it's not digital. Which means you have to play with it quite a bit to get it set to the temperature that you're looking for, where with something like the Ranco you can set it directly to 85 degrees or whatever you might want.

I would love to get the pre-wired Ranco; the problem is that its really expensive (I'm a poor college student) and I only have one BP. It's all I'm planning to have, too, so fiddling with the dial to get a good temp is fine, so long as its easy to set up, lol.

Oh, I just realized I was looking at the double pre-wired. Hm..$80 isn't too terrible...but still expensive for one BP.

I have the Reptitemp 500R and its works well! I have used it for over a year with no problems! A bigger water dish would help humidity. You can use paper towels or aspen as a substrate and mist it without worrying! If you have holes on the top then cover all of them, if they are on the sides tehn cover some of them. Your holes should only be on the sides. Big Apple Herp sells the BAH-1000SC for under $40! That one is better for a little more $! Hope this helps!

I'm deciding on a ranco or Johnson from e-bay. You just have to wire it yourself. Both are under 50 shipped.

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Originally Posted by emiebeth

I would love to get the pre-wired Ranco; the problem is that its really expensive (I'm a poor college student) and I only have one BP. It's all I'm planning to have, too, so fiddling with the dial to get a good temp is fine, so long as its easy to set up, lol.

Oh, I just realized I was looking at the double pre-wired. Hm..$80 isn't too terrible...but still expensive for one BP.

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+1
I would also recommend buying a pre-wired Ranco from ReptileBasics.com

I had a 500r a few years ago and mine broke. you get what you pay for.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...=1#post1441092

check the last few pages.

:D:gj:

I bet you could do it.

Buy a good t stat like a ranco or johnson, you can wire it yourself and not have to mess with a stupid dial like the 500r.

yea, for the price of the 500r you could buy 3 plug in dimmer switches. You just wont have the probe that is attached.

The 500r is very finiky, you can play with it all day before getting the right temp. Turn it a quarter inch and it might change a degree, turn it a hair and it might change 10 degrees.

I agree anything is better than the 500r it is junk. It just clicks on 100% then off hot cold. It might be great in an aquarium but anything with a flat bottom it heats up too fast mine swung from over 124º to 88º then back up again. Experience, bought one set up enclosure brought snake home worry worry bought herpstat and wondered why the heck I bought the 500r in the first place. Not buying a proportional thermostat and buying the 500r just makes the better one cost 30 dollars more.

Got one for 2 years now. It does the job if your room temps don't fluctuate too much. Yes, you need to fiddle with it evrytime you clean your enclosure.

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Originally Posted by emiebeth

Hm..$80 isn't too terrible...but still expensive for one BP.

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It might sound expensive now, but it'll be around as long as your ball python is. If you don't get rid of the snake at some point, that means that $80 will probably be spread out over a good 20+ years.

Like was said before, you don't HAVE to go the $80 dollar route.

Wiring looks super easy, there's step by step with pictures. It'll be my first time wiring too, but it doesn't look hard at all. I just need to go get some wire strippers :) You save about $30 if you wire it yourself.

I bought the 500r as my first Thermostat... I did NOT like it. I was constantly having to fiddle with it. I'd go to sleep with it at 88 degrees and when I woke up it was at 95! I am the kind of person that doesn't really need to be stressing about things like this.

I've since invested in Herpstats and will not look back. They cost me about $160-$180 each.

$80 for a Ranco is not bad at all. If I were you, I'd save up and make that purchase. Your peace of mind is worth it.

its not reliable at all if your room temps fluctuate even a few degrees. save yourself the heachache and get the garden thermostat (you can find it on amazon) I can get the link when I'm home, or a ranco. Ive got a johnson controls and I still use it today.

id by one.... because i have one and have had several others and have not had these problems that people talk about. i took a digital thermometer and taped both the 500r probe and the digital thermometer together and then i just start from the top and work the dial down till i have the right temp and then i leave it alone. room tempure changes havnt ever bothered me because the 500r is a thermostat, so when the room temp goes up it turns off jut like when it lowers it turns on. so.... if u dont need instant temp set up then this is the one for you especially with one snake. but all in all i would buy a ranco.. but not if i was u, with only one snake. good luckwith your choice. :gj:

edit: look up hydrofarm thermostats they are cool

Once I got my ReptiTemp 500R setup it stays there where I've got it set it stays between 91-95 degrees. I've had it for a little over 2 years although when I buy a rack I'm going to invest in a ranco or herpstat.

Edit: You plug the ReptiTemp into the wall and it has a probe that you put on the UTH and there are two spots to plug a UTH into the ReptiTemp

I never had any problems with my Reptitemp 500R! I never had temps change within a degree +/- and never had a problem adjusting the temp! If installed properly, they should work fine! I do however recommend a Helix for racks!

Thank you guys so much! I did just go out and get the 500R, and they said if I had any problems with it, I could return it no problem. So we'll see how this works out, and if it does end up fluctuating, I'll...I dunno, beg my friends for a loan so I can get the Ranco, lol. Thanks guys!

My 500r is garbage. Spent awhile getting it to where i want and it fluctates from like 84 degrees to 95. It's all over the place with my ambients not changing much in the room. Personally, I think it's junk.

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Originally Posted by Camarokidz28

My 500r is garbage. Spent awhile getting it to where i want and it fluctates from like 84 degrees to 95. It's all over the place with my ambients not changing much in the room. Personally, I think it's junk.

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You must attach the probe directly to the middle of the heat tape!