Heating system alarm/failsafe devices?

I had a big scare recently with a thermostat malfunction so I was wondering if anyone knows of any devices that could operate as a thermometer and also set off an alarm or send me a text message if temperatures in my BP's tub get either too high or low (although mostly too high is my concern). Or if there is something independent from a thermostat that can turn off the heat automatically if it detects the temperature getting too high. I know that sounds like it would be redundant but this is a risk I don't even want to exist in the future because things could have turned out so bad if I hadn't noticed early.

Spyder Robotics Herpstat. No thermometer, won't text you unless they made a new model that can do that. But they do have an alarm when the threshold for highest and lowest temp is passed. Then it shuts off (Supposedly). The alarm do work for sure, not super loud but keeps beeping until you either stop the alarm; temp goes back to normal; or I think in about 30 min, it will shut off the heat on its own.

"Reptile Guardian" is a temp/humidity monitor that can send alerts and remotely monitor things. No control, but you would know when an issue happened, even away from the house from how it sounds.

Beyond my budget right now. I've seen something similar called SensorPush from a Google search for it that is similar.

Never used any of them, but it's the closest I've seen for remote monitoring. Otherwise herpstat for control and better fail safe mechanism is the best for a thermostat. (Or if power draw allows for the thermostats, using 2 tstats in "series" with the one closer to the wall set a few degrees higher and takes over if the other fails "on" and your temps are only a few degrees too high which is far less dangerous short term. The other thermostat would remain on at all times while the main one is functional as it stops before it reaches the temp it is set to.)




Just had a new thought, but you could set up a wifi camera for around $20 and point it at a thermometer to be able to check the temp it is reading remotely when you would otherwise not hear a herpstat going off (such as during work or on vacation or other outings).
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Originally Posted by Cheesenugget

Spyder Robotics Herpstat. No thermometer, won't text you unless they made a new model that can do that. But they do have an alarm when the threshold for highest and lowest temp is passed. Then it shuts off (Supposedly). The alarm do work for sure, not super loud but keeps beeping until you either stop the alarm; temp goes back to normal; or I think in about 30 min, it will shut off the heat on its own.

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Thanks for the recommendation! Definitely going upgrade to one of these. I'm still wondering if an independent thermometer alarm exists though, since the issue with mine originated from the temperature probe getting messed up and I want to have a backup so that doesn't happen again.

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Originally Posted by pretends2bnormal

"Reptile Guardian" is a temp/humidity monitor that can send alerts and remotely monitor things. No control, but you would know when an issue happened, even away from the house from how it sounds.

Beyond my budget right now. I've seen something similar called SensorPush from a Google search for it that is similar.

Never used any of them, but it's the closest I've seen for remote monitoring. Otherwise herpstat for control and better fail safe mechanism is the best for a thermostat. (Or if power draw allows for the thermostats, using 2 tstats in "series" with the one closer to the wall set a few degrees higher and takes over if the other fails "on" and your temps are only a few degrees too high which is far less dangerous short term. The other thermostat would remain on at all times while the main one is functional as it stops before it reaches the temp it is set to.)

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Missed this when I posted my previous message. Thank you very much, "Reptile Guardian" looks like it's exactly the kind of device I'm looking for! I really need one of these to put my mind at rest after what happened to my CHE thermostat.

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Originally Posted by Luvyna

Missed this when I posted my previous message. Thank you very much, "Reptile Guardian" looks like it's exactly the kind of device I'm looking for! I really need one of these to put my mind at rest after what happened to my CHE thermostat.

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Yeah, I haven't looked at it closely, but I wouldn't be surprised if the alert function has some sort of monthly payment. That's what it looks like it says on Reptile Basics for it.

I've done the wifi camera pointerd at probe thermometers myself before on vacation and while setting up cages to see fluctuations throughout the day while I work and found it to work well. I use herpstat, so I haven't needed to go beyond that level of remote monitoring before.

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Originally Posted by pretends2bnormal

Yeah, I haven't looked at it closely, but I wouldn't be surprised if the alert function has some sort of monthly payment. That's what it looks like it says on Reptile Basics for it.

I've done the wifi camera pointerd at probe thermometers myself before on vacation and while setting up cages to see fluctuations throughout the day while I work and found it to work well. I use herpstat, so I haven't needed to go beyond that level of remote monitoring before.

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Ah, the monthly payments would be pretty annoying. The wifi camera also sounds like a good possibility, will definitely look into that (plus I've always been curious about what my BP does during the evening). If I'm not able to fix the situation myself, usually there is someone else around who can check on my snake for me, so it's mostly a matter of being alerted when something is wrong. Although, hopefully with a Herpstat nothing goes wrong in the first place.

Yikes, sounds like it was a close shave. Is Noodle okay?

I'd chime in on the reliability of the Herpstat, as it has options for several warning/safety settings in case of temps getting too high or too low. I get what you mean about what to do if it's an issue with the temperature probe itself, though. The Herpstats have a digital display that indicates what temp the probe is currently measuring, as well as the percentage of power output to the heat source, so I always eyeball the numbers every time I check on my snakes. I've never had this happen, but if a probe were to get dislodged, you'd be able to tell from the display readings immediately - the measured temp would be lower than target temp because the probe is pulled away from the heat source, and the power output would be climbing high in a futile effort to reach that target temp.

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Originally Posted by RedRabbit

Yikes, sounds like it was a close shave. Is Noodle okay?

I'd chime in on the reliability of the Herpstat, as it has options for several warning/safety settings in case of temps getting too high or too low. I get what you mean about what to do if it's an issue with the temperature probe itself, though. The Herpstats have a digital display that indicates what temp the probe is currently measuring, as well as the percentage of power output to the heat source, so I always eyeball the numbers every time I check on my snakes. I've never had this happen, but if a probe were to get dislodged, you'd be able to tell from the display readings immediately - the measured temp would be lower than target temp because the probe is pulled away from the heat source, and the power output would be climbing high in a futile effort to reach that target temp.

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Thankfully he is, took him to the vet to be sure but man was it scary. Walked in to find ambient temps over 110F in the enclosure and it was very lucky that I noticed in time and that Noodle wasn't in those temperatures any longer than he was.

Glad to hear Herpstats have those features! A very worthwhile investment indeed, especially since I've read that other thermostats can have electronic failures after a year.

They sell (some, like VTech) baby monitors that beep to alert you if a room is too hot or too cold...would that work? That's all I know
about them, I don't use anything like that.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

They sell (some, like VTech) baby monitors that beep to alert you if a room is too hot or too cold...would that work? That's all I know
about them, I don't use anything like that.

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Thanks, will look into that brand and type of device!

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Originally Posted by Luvyna

Thankfully he is, took him to the vet to be sure but man was it scary. Walked in to find ambient temps over 110F in the enclosure and it was very lucky that I noticed in time and that Noodle wasn't in those temperatures any longer than he was.

Glad to hear Herpstats have those features! A very worthwhile investment indeed, especially since I've read that other thermostats can have electronic failures after a year.

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110F!! Gosh, that's scary indeed. I'm glad he's none the worse for wear, probably because you caught the issue quickly.

Unfortunately, it does seem like most of the budget-friendly on/off thermostats have a high chance of failure within their first 1-2 years of use. Also, inherent to their design, they tend to have a wide range of temperature fluctuation around the desired target temp. That was my biggest frustration with the Exo Terra thermostat I used for a brief period before getting a Herpstat. It would vacillate +/- 5 degrees around the target temp on a good day; if it was unplugged and then plugged back in, it would be +/- 10 degrees for a while before stabilizing! Shooting up to 100 F when it's meant to cap out at 90 F? Very NOT good.

This is the most worrisome part of snake-keeping, especially those of you keeping BPs & other kinds that need the most warmth, with cages that contain heat
the most. And I don't know what 'baby monitors' cost compared to other options discussed here, so I just tossed that idea into the ring as a potential option.

An inexpensive alternative is to put a dimmer switch between the thermostat and the heating appliance, set so that if the thermostat fails wide open the dimmer won't let the heat go above something like 95*F. You'd have to play with it and your snakes will be uncomfortable for a while, but they won't have injuries or die from overheating.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

An inexpensive alternative is to put a dimmer switch between the thermostat and the heating appliance, set so that if the thermostat fails wide open the dimmer won't let the heat go above something like 95*F. You'd have to play with it and your snakes will be uncomfortable for a while, but they won't have injuries or die from overheating.

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I do this but instead use on/off style VE100 thermostats to back up my proportional units.

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Originally Posted by RedRabbit

110F!! Gosh, that's scary indeed. I'm glad he's none the worse for wear, probably because you caught the issue quickly.

Unfortunately, it does seem like most of the budget-friendly on/off thermostats have a high chance of failure within their first 1-2 years of use. Also, inherent to their design, they tend to have a wide range of temperature fluctuation around the desired target temp. That was my biggest frustration with the Exo Terra thermostat I used for a brief period before getting a Herpstat. It would vacillate +/- 5 degrees around the target temp on a good day; if it was unplugged and then plugged back in, it would be +/- 10 degrees for a while before stabilizing! Shooting up to 100 F when it's meant to cap out at 90 F? Very NOT good.

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Yeah, it's going to stay with me for a long time. It scares me to think that if it had just been maybe 30 mins longer, the temp could have gone up even more and the result could have been very different. I have a similar fluctuation with the Jumpstart thermostats I currently use, looking forward to having more reliable temperatures with a Herpstat.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

This is the most worrisome part of snake-keeping, especially those of you keeping BPs & other kinds that need the most warmth, with cages that contain heat
the most. And I don't know what 'baby monitors' cost compared to other options discussed here, so I just tossed that idea into the ring as a potential option.

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Agreed wholeheartedly, if an animal doesn't belong in the climate it is being kept in, the responsibility to ensure it has the right equipment, safety measures, and living conditions is that much greater because it can do a lot of harm if things go wrong. Baby monitors seem to be a pretty good option so far since they are very reasonable price-wise and get the job done as an independent alarm system.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

An inexpensive alternative is to put a dimmer switch between the thermostat and the heating appliance, set so that if the thermostat fails wide open the dimmer won't let the heat go above something like 95*F. You'd have to play with it and your snakes will be uncomfortable for a while, but they won't have injuries or die from overheating.

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This is a great idea! I have an extra thermostat so I will test this out.