Thermostat

OK, I've got $50 I can spend on a thermostat to use to regulate my UTH.

Suggestions?

Thanks.

Well, IMHO, your only real options are bumping it up $10 and buying an unwired Ranco, or check ebay for a used Ranco. I'm not fond of the on/off thermos for UTH regulation, but if that's your price that's your best bet. I wouldn't touch the Zoo-Med therms.

I'm with justin your look into a rheostat

I'm just starting out myself, and was going to buy the Reptitemp 500r thermostat....opinions? What's the benefit of the Ranco one you mentioned?

i have a zoomed 500r, a johnson control, and a ranco.

personally my favorite is the johnson control, just cause it is smaller then the ranco. they are both very durable and can handle alot.

i will say the zoomed is not bad. i used one for my ball's tank for a couple months. the only downside is there is on temperature readout, it's pretty much guess and check. but since i will be getting a rack june 6th (yay!!) i decided to get a better thermostat. if you do get the zoomed what will happen is you will have it for a couple months/years and then later you will want a ranco or a JC. i keep a zoomed around just in case.

i have a extra zoomed barley used, pm me if you decide on the zoomed.

i forgot to post this, here is a nice comparison for the different thermostats available.

http://mgreptiles.com/THERMOCOMPARE.html

cool, that's really helpful .... what's the best place to shop for the 'better' thermostats? I've browsed Petsmart/Petco and the selection is poor (which I expected). The reptile shop where I got my BP is really limited in selection too. ... in your opinion is it necessary/recommended to drop the temperature at night? I've heard yes, and no...

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Originally Posted by BPNewb

... in your opinion is it necessary/recommended to drop the temperature at night? I've heard yes, and no...

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No...unless you are breeding and it is breeding time. :)

Try Rich at www.ReptileBasics.com for the thermostats he carries all the good ones and is a great guy to deal with.

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Originally Posted by Kagez28

i will say the zoomed is not bad. i used one for my ball's tank for a couple months. the only downside is there is on temperature readout, it's pretty much guess and check. but since i will be getting a rack june 6th (yay!!) i decided to get a better thermostat. if you do get the zoomed what will happen is you will have it for a couple months/years and then later you will want a ranco or a JC. i keep a zoomed around just in case.

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My experience with zoomed was terrible. I have personally seen temp readouts 10 degrees or more off. The difference between 92 degree heat tape, and 102 degree heat tape is one nasty belly burn.

Zoomeds are a waste IMHO. Spend the extra $20 now and you'll be able to continue using the Ranco or JC once you make the switch to Helix or Herpstat (which, if you intend on keeping any number of herps, you will make that switch). My first On/Off therm was a Ranco, now it controls ambient temps. You could buy the zoomed now, and then end up bying the Ranco or JC and then you've invested some $100 instead of the $60 the Ranco would have cost in the first place.

You can make a rheostat for under $10 and use it until you find a used Helix or save up to buy a new proportional thermostat. I got my Helix with the night drop cord for $65 used. I think it would have been twice that to get a new one shipped w/ the cord. A rheostat is better than an on/off thermo if you have an UTH, as long as you keep an eye on it.

I would still save up the extra $20 and get a wired Ranco or JC thermostat. Digital thermostats, even if they are on/off style, work better in a room with fluctuating temps than a rheostat does.


Home Depot sells rheostats by Lutron and they run $10 plus tax. I have a couple around the house and they work great for what they do. But they sure don't work great if your house temp fluctuates alot.

If you have two heating pads underneath your enclosure, a good economical way to control both at the same time is: plug hotside heating pad into thermostat, set the temp and make sure it's stable. Then use one of those Lutron Credenza rheostats, plug it into the thermostat, then plug the other heating pad into the rheostat, dial it down halfway(and measure temps to make sure it's dimmed enough) and let it stabilize. You should find that it keeps the temps on both sides perfect. Thermostats are wonderful things.

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Originally Posted by PythonWallace

A rheostat is better than an on/off thermo if you have an UTH, as long as you keep an eye on it.

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I am going to have to disagree with you there. I would much rather have that 1 degree swing with my JC than the possibilty of my temps dropping too much because my room got colder.

I have used Zoomed rheostats for years without any problems.. the huge factor here is, there can not be temperature fluctuations in the room that your caging is in. If there are, your temps will go all crazy and you'll probably end up with some crispy critters.
If you never listen to anything I ever type again, please use this advice: buy a Helix proportional thermostat. I have mine on my incubator now, and while I am still waiting for the eggs, it has been running for a few weeks now with a Stunning accuracy rats. I love this thing; I already experimented by opening windows in the room it's in.. the temps in my kitchen have gone from 65 to 80 in the past month and That Darned Thermostat has kept the temps right-on in that incubator!!
I can not wait until incubation is over. All of my rheostats are going up on ebay; probably my UTHs too.. Flexwatt on a Helix is the only way to drive.

Would you guys post some direct links to site that sell these things?

Thanks.

Zoo Med Rheostat

Hope that helps. :)

ReptileBasics.com is a good supplier for Thermos... all though, I don't believe he sells the cheapo models.

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Originally Posted by tmlowe5704

I am going to have to disagree with you there. I would much rather have that 1 degree swing with my JC than the possibilty of my temps dropping too much because my room got colder.

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I hear what you are saying, but I still think that a rheostat is safer than an on/off thermo. for a UTH, as long as you are keeping an eye on it. If you calibrate it regularly at 92 you can have an ambient temp. swing of 3-4 degrees with no ill effect. A 3-4 degree shift is a stretch in most cases. On the other hand, an on/off with a UTH can fry a snake at full power in a short period of time. Plus, the rheostat would only be temporary while he saves for a Helix or HerpStat, which is much better in the long run.

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Originally Posted by PythonWallace

I hear what you are saying, but I still think that a rheostat is safer than an on/off thermo. for a UTH, as long as you are keeping an eye on it. If you calibrate it regularly at 92 you can have an ambient temp. swing of 3-4 degrees with no ill effect. A 3-4 degree shift is a stretch in most cases. On the other hand, an on/off with a UTH can fry a snake at full power in a short period of time. Plus, the rheostat would only be temporary while he saves for a Helix or HerpStat, which is much better in the long run.

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An on/off UTH usually has a 1-3 degree shift. If it's "frying a snake", there's something wrong with it. Again, in my experience, the rheostats have caused a great deal more incidents than Ranco's or JC's.

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Originally Posted by jhall1468

An on/off UTH usually has a 1-3 degree shift. If it's "frying a snake", there's something wrong with it. Again, in my experience, the rheostats have caused a great deal more incidents than Ranco's or JC's.

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OK. I've never used an on/off thermostat, so I'm sure you're right. I thought the shift for those was more than that, so I was worried about using one for UTH. I just don't see anything wrong with temporarily using a $7 rheostat while saving for a proportional thermostat. I use a rheostat for my rack without issues, but my snake room has a consistant ambiant temp. and I keep an eye on my temps. daily. I only use it because I have stable room temps. and using a dimmer is less costly and more energy efficient than turning something on and off constantly. For the OP, I thought it would suffice until he could save up another $50 for a Helix.

I recently took my daughters snake to the breeder that we purchased her from and was concerned about a problem that i noticed on the snake. She is a BP and she is been feeding well and shedding ok at least we thought.We have the temp in the 29 gal tank at 80-90f and the humidity at 55% . The breeder told us that apparently she has had a few incomplet sheds and did not shed the skin off at the small tip of her tail and he said she will be ok but wonder will this part of the tail fall off or will it continue to get worse and should i take the snake to the vet to maybe have the vet remove that part of the tail ? unsure of what to really do . this is the 1st snake we have ever bought . if anyone can help with any information on what to do about this it would be greatly appreciated.Thankyou for and to anybody who can offer this information.

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Originally Posted by Snowdogs2006

I recently took my daughters snake to the breeder that we purchased her from and was concerned about a problem that i noticed on the snake. She is a BP and she is been feeding well and shedding ok at least we thought.We have the temp in the 29 gal tank at 80-90f and the humidity at 55% . The breeder told us that apparently she has had a few incomplet sheds and did not shed the skin off at the small tip of her tail and he said she will be ok but wonder will this part of the tail fall off or will it continue to get worse and should i take the snake to the vet to maybe have the vet remove that part of the tail ? unsure of what to really do . this is the 1st snake we have ever bought . if anyone can help with any information on what to do about this it would be greatly appreciated.Thankyou for and to anybody who can offer this information.

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Put the snake in a tub with luke warm water and a clean towel for an hour, then take her out and see if you can rub the skin off. Don't try to pick it off, and don't leave it. If you can't rub all of it off after soaking it you might have to take it to a vet. I've seen a king snake with a stuck shed on the tip of it's tail, and the owner tried picking it off and it was a mess. If it won't come off after soaking her, there might be a few layers of stuck shed that a vet should take a look at.

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Originally Posted by PythonWallace

OK. I've never used an on/off thermostat, so I'm sure you're right. I thought the shift for those was more than that, so I was worried about using one for UTH. I just don't see anything wrong with temporarily using a $7 rheostat while saving for a proportional thermostat. I use a rheostat for my rack without issues, but my snake room has a consistant ambiant temp. and I keep an eye on my temps. daily. I only use it because I have stable room temps. and using a dimmer is less costly and more energy efficient than turning something on and off constantly. For the OP, I thought it would suffice until he could save up another $50 for a Helix.

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He never mentioned wanting to save money for a helix.