I have a potentially fatal problem

Ok, I have a bp and a leopard gecko. On both of their tanks is is an exo terra heat pad. Since I've had both of them their temps have been pretty good (about 90 for the leo and 93 for the bp). But NOW with the hot weather these temps have just skyrocketed. I did buy a lamp dimmer for the leo's heat pad to bring it down just below 90 but its so hit and miss with that. I want a permanent solution, I want a freakin' thermostat. But I don't want to have to order on of the internet, they seem to be very elusive around these parts. Does anyone have any ideas about what I should do?

All I can say is order on the internet, and get it overnighted shipped.

you might just have to order one. a thermostat is a necessity--you should go ahead and order now so it will be there before your temps get too out of control...

ok well is there any one that I can hook both into and have them pumping out 2 different temperatures?

Why not order one over the Internet? Give Rich at ReptileBasics a call and he'll get ya hooked up. A Johnson Control or a Ranco should do just fine for either of those cages. You definitely need something and the sooner you order it, the sooner you'll get it. You can order it today and have it delivered within 24 hours....or you can spend a week looking for something comporable locally and not finding it. (The t-stats you might find in a petstore are notoriously faulty and not very accurate to begin with...I would NOT waste money on one of those!)

Order from Rich at Reptile Basics. I ordered from him personally and was stunned by the high level of customer service, the speed with which he shipped my items, and the care he took in wiring the Flexwatt. Heck, if someone online DID scam you andyou paid by credit card.. simply call your CC company and report it as fraud. my neighbor merely threatened to do this to a dishonest merchant, and they sent his stuff to him right away and even refunded him. A reputable biz does not want to go there, in regards to CC fraud..
Those heatpads are fine If they are regulated! They can get well over 100 degrees if not, and I would even be afraid that they could start a fire at that temperature or melt something.. they really need to be regulated. i would eevn just get a rheostat at the pet store as a temporary solution. I actually use these now, until my eggs are done incubating and I can yoink their Helix for my snakes.. but there cna be no temperature fluctuation in the room.

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Originally Posted by Pwilliams58

ok well is there any one that I can hook both into and have them pumping out 2 different temperatures?

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There IS a t-stat that can control two different temps like that, but I believe it costs more than twice as much as two of the less expensive models. But if you call Rich and ask, he'll let ya know for sure.

oh crap theres no way I can afford 2 of these

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Originally Posted by Pwilliams58

oh crap theres no way I can afford 2 of these

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you are going to have to. that expense is something you should have taken into account before you even got the animals. it is a necessity, and honestly, i can't believe you've gone this long without any thermostat or other temperature control. that is extremely dangerous and potentially fatal (like you said), so why in the world would you risk it?

For a more economical temporary solution, you can get the thermostat for the Ball Python's heat mat, set the tstat so the temp is 93-94, then plug your dimmer INTO the thermostat's power strip, the same way you did your BP's heat mat. Then dial down the dimmer until the temp is perfect in the Leopard Gecko's enclosure. It shouldn't fluctuate when you do it that way.

I use this method in a similar way on one of my juvie Ball racks. Hot side flex gets plugged directly into tstat, set tsat to 94, cool side flexwatt gets plugged into a dimmer, which in turn gets plugged into the tstat. It has kept temps rock steady for the past year. The Lutron dimmers I use are 300watts, so they can easily hold a good few feet of flexwatt.

Those ESU thermostats are only 30 bucks. Can you afford 60 bucks?

Those ESU and Alife "thermostats" are built very poorly and are really not even powerful enough to handle the 1000 watts they boast. I would trust a dimmer more than those. They also fluctuate VERY widely and are just not worth the money. For $70, he can get a Johnsons Controls or a Ranco, since he already has a dimmer, and he can set everything up that way. Digital thermostats are far superior in quality than those analog disasters.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Those ESU and Alife "thermostats" are built very poorly and are really not even powerful enough to handle the 1000 watts they boast. I would trust a dimmer more than those. They also fluctuate VERY widely and are just not worth the money. For $70, he can get a Johnsons Controls or a Ranco, since he already has a dimmer, and he can set everything up that way. Digital thermostats are far superior in quality than those analog disasters.

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I wouldn't. My dimmer was terrible. They're not the best, but if you can't go for the more expensive right away, they will get you through. I was just suggesting it because he said he couldn't afford two of those. Down boy.

definitely avoid the ESU, Alife and Zoomed thermostats and rheostats. they are total crap and you won't be able to keep a steady temp in your enclosure no matter how steady your room temperature is.

I'm not a boy??

Anyway.. The dimmer gets plugged into the thermostat, which prevents it from fluctuating(and even in the case of dimmer failure, the heat pad would only get up to the temps the Ball Python is at, no biggie). My temps in my juvie rack stay at 94/84 and don't budge. When I used one of those Alife pieces of junk, the temps fluctuated between 87 and 98... Wasn't going to work..

Lutron dimmers can be found at Home Depot, already wired and ready to plug in, for $10+ tax. Model name is Credenza, and they are normally white, grey or clear.

LOL I didn't say you were a boy it's a figure of speech.

What do you mean plug the dimmer into the thermostat. I'm just asking cuz I honestly hadn't heard of this.

You plug the heat pad into the dimmer and the dimmer into the thermostat. It will then regulate the pad at the lower power the dimmer is set at, and won't fluctuate. Even if the dimmer were to fail, the good quality thermostat would protect the animals from being burnt.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Lutron dimmers can be found at Home Depot, already wired and ready to plug in, for $10+ tax. Model name is Credenza, and they are normally white, grey or clear.

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Becky, Thanks very much.

I currently have two thermostats one is a Ranco and the other is a zoomed. The zoomed is working just fine, but I like the dimmer idea much better -- it just sounds so much cleaner. Also it would mean that both flexxwat panels would react to the room temperature at the same time with the same increase or decrease.

great idea!

Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

For a more economical temporary solution, you can get the thermostat for the Ball Python's heat mat, set the tstat so the temp is 93-94, then plug your dimmer INTO the thermostat's power strip, the same way you did your BP's heat mat. Then dial down the dimmer until the temp is perfect in the Leopard Gecko's enclosure. It shouldn't fluctuate when you do it that way

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that sounds like a damn good idea, I was thinking I like the helix tstat, can someone explain those a little more for me, like do they have plugs on them or something?

If you got a Ranco or Johnson controls thermostat you can plug both heat mats into it. I have done it with a tub and a 20 gallon tank, using two exo terra heat mats. Leopard geckos and Ball Pythons have the same heating requirements for the warm side. They both stayed at 92 degrees. Then I just used another thermostat for the ball pythons coolside heat pad. Leopard Geckos can actually have hotside temps upto 95 degrees without problems as long as they can thermoregulate. I actually bump their temps up to 95 if they stop eating and as long as they aren't sick they will start eating within 48 hours.

So If you go with one of those two thermostats you shouldn't have any trouble plugging the two in together as long as you are using the same heatmats.

Kristy

oh ok I was worried that was a little high for a leo

that's definitely the highest you want it to get for your leo, but you could also use different or more substrate, i.e. two pieces of cage carpet instead of one, in order to make sure it isn't too warm. just as long as it isnt' something that he can dig down in and get next to the glass and burn himself.

becky you are my heroine!!! :bow:

LoL I try :) I think I'm just a danger to my bank account, so I have to learn ways to be "thrifty", hehe.

Uh oh....

Thanks for the email,
Sorry, had to stop shipping to Canada, too many problems.
Thanks
Rich

So? where am I supposed to get one now?

i'm not sure off the top of my head who ships to canada. have you searched via google, yahoo, etc?

I googled, and checked ebay.

Hi,


Have you tried asking some of our Canadian members if they know of anyone? Just if you notice their location it couldn't hurt to PM them and ask.:)


dr del

found it! www.beanfarm.com -- they'll ship to canada for you. they carry both helix and herpstat thermostats. :)

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:( :( :( :( :(

not a problem. :)

NOW it works :P

frig... i had a pm from someone with two places to buy flexwatt in canada... and i can't find it.

ask uncle festae... i believe it was he who hooked me up with the links.

i was pampered by adam... i ordered from rich, had it sent to adam and he's sending it along with my snakes when they come. boooooya!

found it... it was a post not a pm.

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Originally Posted by Uncle Festae

Aleesha, in Canada, flexwatt is technically illegal to some extent, as it did not meet CSA safety standards, so really your only option is to order it from a herp supplier. These are the best 2 bets for flex in Canada...

www.niagarareptiles.com ...... Jon is an excellent guy to deal with and has amazing customer service, I actually wont deal with anyone else on a product that Jon carries, he's just been that good to me ;) If I order flex from Jon on Monday night, I have it wednesday morning :) he's got nice snakes too ;)

www.cornelsworld.com ....Greg West has an excellent rep, and I've heard nothing but positive things about him, he's in Alberta, whereas Jon is in Ontario, so you might save a dollar or 2 on shipping, maybe not even.....

I personally recommend Jon @ Niagara, but I've never personally dealt with Greg, so I guess I'm biased ;)

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from thread:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...41&postcount=3