Thermostat ?

This might make me sound stupid but can I use one thermostat to control the temps in two tanks. The one I am using has two plugs so if I plug another uth in the temps should run close to what they are in the tank with the probe. It would be a 20g long and a 40g so the uths would be different sizes.
Thanks

If they were the same size and brand of pads, I would say probably yes, but if they aren't...impossible say without trying it.

So it is something worth trying before i go out and buy one. I am not getting the new baby until every things running right.

you can get thermos that have dual tank control

yes, it would be worth trying if both tanks don't have animals in them. If the temp runs high then you could use a rheostat to dial it down some, but if it runs low there's nothing you could do, other than switch which one has the probe in it.

What kind of thermostat?

It’s a zoo med 500r, all I could afford when I got my first snake. What kind has duel tank controls and should i just invest in one of them

Not worth the investment if you only have 2 snakes... dual control is like 200$ ... Just make sure the mats are the same size and youll be fine... I have 4 tanks running off the same thermostat

It's not worth the investment to save a life? Wow..

I spent $230 on a new Herpstat 2(when they first came out) when I only had one snake. Divide that up over 40 years and see what the cost per year is to prevent your snake from being burned or dying.

Those Zoomed(ZooDead) things are junk and are likely to either stick in the ON position, frying your snake, or stick in the OFF position, freezing your snake and causing an RI. Neither of which are beneficial to the snake's health(death is definitely not beneficial).

A Johnson Controls or a Ranco thermostat are both around $70-$75 already wired. Flexwatt costs $4 wired, then about $8 to ship all of that. Now is that really too much to spend to save an animal's life? You could even get two of these and it would still only be $150 or so. About as much as you would spend on one proportional(not that I'm saying NOT to buy a proportional, just trying to work with your budget).

So could i use a uth for a 10-20g in a 40g. Does the uth only have to be the size of the hide and put the hide right over it?

It's honestly worth it to wait, and spend a bit more money on better equipment. Herpstat IIs are about $219 right now, and worth every penny of it. Get the right-sized heater for the cage. If you can't afford all the equipment, then you can't afford the animal yet--it's that simple. Just hold off until you CAN afford it. You only have to make these purchases once in a long while.
You'll NEVER regret that you spent the money for good equipment. Saving a few bucks in THIS area could cost the animal's life.
You can use a big old $15 plastic bin for a cage, but the heat and thermostat have to be reliable and good, they're the most important purchase.

Can someone suggest a site for buying a good thermostat. And also should I use Flexwatt instead of the exo terra uth.

http://www.reptilebasics.com for all your heating needs... I would say that the exo terra's are overpriced, and you can do flexwatt, which is more reliable, for far less.

How much Flexwatt should I use for a 40g tank and how do I use it. Also do I need separate thermostats for each tank? And what one should I get($100range)

If both tanks are the exact same set up and in relatively the same area you should be fine. You'll need enough flexwatt to cover 1/3 to 1/2 your tank depending on the temps in your room where you keep the cages. If you're in a cooler (68F-70F) room that tends to dip at night you may need additional heat on the cool end controlled by a separate thermostat. I would go for the 11 inch for your warm side and maybe a strip of 3 inch for your cool if you think you need it. Rich at reptilebasics is great at answering questions and should be able to give you some good set up advice.

Hey Becky I'm just curious how is using a different thermostat killing the snake?? Ive used the SAME one hes had for over a yr now and all 8 of my snakes are still alive!! Im glad you have 240$ to drop on a thermostat for 1 snake... Not all of us have that kind of money to spend but that doesnt mean you cant go with a different brand that does the SAME THING. Before you make your rude comments why dont you stop and think for a minute. Yea it may not be "top quality" but it works just fine... I assume you drive a lexus or BMW too? There are other ways of keeping a snake other than the way YOU do it so why dont you be a little more accepting to other peoples ideas.

I agree with what your saying there is more than one way to keep a snake and more than one form of temp control; with that said the Zoo Med t-stat is not the most reliable of t-stats. I'd recommend a dimmer switch over those thermostats any day. IMO a Ranco or Johnson would be ideal if you couldn't afford something like a proportional helix or herpstat.

I didn't make rude comments. That's probably how you took my tone. I'm a blunt and straight-forward kinda gal, so that's how I type. I'm not going to start saying my tone before every sentence now... ;)

Just because "your" thermostat has been working ok for that long, doesn't mean someone elses' is going to. Their quality control isn't up to very high standards and I'm sure the faulty ones far outnumber the good ones.

And why spend $30 on a thermostat, that could fail, when you have thousands of dollars worth of animals that it needs to protect? Doesn't make one bit of sense to me.

I spend the extra money because I care about my animals and want to protect them in any way I can. If it means I have to work a little harder at my job to get some extra money to pay for it, then I certainly will.

And I drive a 95 Ford Taurus that has 103,000 miles on it.. My paycheck goes to saving money and my animals' care.

What's $35 more to insure that your snakes' lives are kept safe? A Johnson Controls or a Ranco is only $75. They are digital thermostats that have high quality parts and good quality control(they are used to run everything from restaurant freezers to my incubator that is carrying future life). A Zoomed "thermostat" is analog and is not held to the high standards that professional digital thermostats are held to. It's "pet quality" meaning it is likely to fail at any given point in time. Yes, you may get a good one now and then(I never did), but the majority are going to be unsafe and could harm animals(burns, neurological damage from being too hot, RI from being too cold) or even start a fire burning down the whole house with the animals inside.

I'm not going to put a price on properly caring for my animals.

Understood there are other ways to go... but if you check his original post he wasnt asking what is the best thermostat out there... he asked if he could control 2 tubs with 1 thermostat and the answer is yes... and I could say the same... Id recommend a zoo med over a dimmer switch but that wasnt the OP question. Not everyones willing to drop more money on a thermostat than the snake itself... the snake can be kept alive and healthy will the zoo med... it may fluctuate a little more but it still works.

I actually have 3 zoo meds... 0 problems... I now use the herp pro bc I need it for other things as well but that doesnt mean the 3 zoo meds didnt work just fine.

As far as "mine" working fine for that long... So your gonna say that herpstat has never made a faulty unit??

Did you know VPI uses dimmers on their racks? And Johnson Controls Tstats on their incubators? Dimmers are by far safer than those junky Zoomed thermostats.

And yes, a snake can be kept "alive" by one of those cheap things, but is it going to THRIVE? That's the point. Surviving means possibly getting an RI but healing(if the owner notices), getting burned but healing, eating inconsistently because the temperatures are never stable, stress, etc.

I'd rather my snakes be safe and thrive than save a little money.

He says he has $100 budget. He can easily get some flexwatt, a dimmer from Home Depot(Lutron) and a Johnson or Ranco thermostat. No biggie. And his animals will be safe and will thrive.

If people aren't willing to spend the money on the proper equipment that owning a snake requires, then they don't need to own the animal. That's about the end of the story right there.

first off do i care what VPI uses?? Does that mean anything to me?? No not really... so your gonna tell me my snakes dont "thrive" bc of the thermostat I use??? Thats the funniest thing ive heard in along time...Yeah ive spent thousands of $$ on ball pythons and im planning on killing them?? Again... think before you speak...

Can we get this back on topic, please? There's no point in this argument. You both obviously have differing opinions on the subject, and that's not going to change. I do have an opinion of my own on this, which is in line with one of you, but this thread is not the place to discuss that.

I'm just stating what the OP shouldn't use. He said he had a budget of so-and-so dollars, and I stated what would fit in that budget. Not trying to argue, I'm just standing up for what I and the majority of Ball(and other snakes) keepers believe in. Buying quality pays for itself in the long run.

If the OP buys the Johnson Controls or Ranco thermostat($70-$75), a Lutron Credenza dimmer($11) and some flexwatt for both cages($10 plus or minus some), then he'll be within budget and will be protecting his snakes at the same time.

Plug bigger cage flexwatt into thermostat directly, set temp, then plug little cage flexwatt into dimmer, plug dimmer into thermostat and dial down until proper temps are reached. Should maintain steady just fine if both cages are in the same part of the room.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

I'm just stating what the OP shouldn't use. He said he had a budget of so-and-so dollars, and I stated what would fit in that budget. Not trying to argue, I'm just standing up for what I and the majority of Ball(and other snakes) keepers believe in. Buying quality pays for itself in the long run.

If the OP buys the Johnson Controls or Ranco thermostat($70-$75), a Lutron Credenza dimmer($11) and some flexwatt for both cages($10 plus or minus some), then he'll be within budget and will be protecting his snakes at the same time.

Plug bigger cage flexwatt into thermostat directly, set temp, then plug little cage flexwatt into dimmer, plug dimmer into thermostat and dial down until proper temps are reached. Should maintain steady just fine if both cages are in the same part of the room.

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Agreed on all points. I just hate to see people arguing, so the Rodney king in me is coming out. Can't we all just get along?

I just want to say that I have had King for 6 months and I feed him once a week (2 mice) and he has never refused to eat. His temps do fluctuate between 88-93 and I have used a Zoomed since I got him. Its worked pretty well so far for me. Thanks for all the input everyone.

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Originally Posted by JoshJP7

first off do i care what VPI uses?? Does that mean anything to me?? No not really... so your gonna tell me my snakes dont "thrive" bc of the thermostat I use??? Thats the funniest thing ive heard in along time...Yeah ive spent thousands of $$ on ball pythons and im planning on killing them?? Again... think before you speak...

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You're honestly not concerned that your Zoo Med could crap out? What if you came home one night and it smelled like BBQed chicken?

I have to point out that this is virtually the only time the Satanic one and I have agreed on anything here so far...so it's probably noteable. <lol>

You can get a free puppy from the guy down the road--you still have to spend the money to get it shots, fixed, shelter, etc. Because that's what's required to keep a dog. It makes no difference how much the dog cost.

The requirements for keeping a $10,000 snake are the same as those for keeping a $10 snake. You don't shrink from paying the money to meet those requirements just because the snake isn't worth 10 grand.

This isn't even about money--there is absolutely no sense at all in paying ANYTHING for a shoddy piece of equipment that's prone to fail. Maybe you'll luck out, and it won't fail...why are you risking an animal's life on a bet to save a few bucks? Get something reliable. It's not a bottom line, it's a living thing.
If you have to wait an extra month to afford the animal itself, then you do it. It's not your life that's being gambled, it's the animal's--it relies on you to care for it.
The bet is all or nothing. 20 bucks gets you a crappy thermostat. Heads, you win, and it works. Tails, it fries your animal, and you're out a snake AND a thermostat.
Why would anyone knowingly use a piece of equipment reported to have an unacceptably high failure rate? It's not worth $20--you couldn't even pay ME $20 to use it.
Take it back, and get something else. Anything else, as long as it doesn't have a record of failing at the drop of a hat.

To put it into perspective, would you vaccinate your dog with a shot that has a history of transmitting distemper to dogs numerous times? Or would you pay a bit more for the one that doesn't?

Someone please show me these "failure statistics" cause like I said I have 3 ... and none have messed up ... My friend has 1... no problems... theres 4... CABALM has 1... theres 5... so someone please show me these statistics "prone to fail?"

I previously posted I now use a herp. pro... just got it bout a month ago but I used the zoomeds for a yr... and still use em with 1 of my tanks thats glass... Zoomed never failed me so why would I worry?

Well, if Satanic there never got a good one, that rather implies s/he got more than one bad one. That alone would be enough to put ME off of the brand. One failure might be a fluke, but more than one unit with the same person? Too much.
The units are fairly new, so there isn't a lot of info out there about them yet.

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Originally Posted by JoshJP7

Someone please show me these "failure statistics" cause like I said I have 3 ... and none have messed up ... My friend has 1... no problems... theres 4... CABALM has 1... theres 5... so someone please show me these statistics "prone to fail?"

I previously posted I now use a herp. pro... just got it bout a month ago but I used the zoomeds for a yr... and still use em with 1 of my tanks thats glass... Zoomed never failed me so why would I worry?

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Because sooner or later, it probably will fail.

Well if you dont buy something bc there was 1 faulty product then your going to be living in a bubble the rest of your life... part of doing business is quality... quality with ALL business is under 100%... Im sure you could find someone whose had a bad herpstat or ranco johnson does that mean your gonna toss yours and find something else?? Either way the OP said he already had a zoo med and wanted to know if he could control 2 tanks with 1 thermostat... he never said he was in the market to buy a new thermostat.