Reptile Thermostat Question

Would I need two thermostats, because i would need to heat my cold side to 80ish because my room is only 72 and then i know i would need one for the hot side to get it to 90ish, but would i need one for the cold side or can i just use one had set 2 different temps?? How does that work, because i want to get the herpstat II but if i can get away with one insted of two that would be nice!!! ( they are soooo pricy) i just bought two Repti-Temp 500R and waiting to hook them up because i still have flex tape coming. So do i really need 2 .

I'm thinking of experimenting with one and insulating one side somehow. I'll let you know how it works if you don't beat me to it.

Having my hot side at 92 makes my cold side 81-84 depending on room temp. But I will say that having two thermostats is good in the slight case that one fails you have a backup and your nice pets shouldn't even get burned.

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Originally Posted by tjones

Would I need two thermostats, because i would need to heat my cold side to 80ish because my room is only 72 and then i know i would need one for the hot side to get it to 90ish, but would i need one for the cold side or can i just use one had set 2 different temps?? How does that work, because i want to get the herpstat II but if i can get away with one insted of two that would be nice!!! ( they are soooo pricy) i just bought two Repti-Temp 500R and waiting to hook them up because i still have flex tape coming. So do i really need 2 .

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I would need to know more about your set up to give you an individualized recommendation.

from my experiences, generally if you are using a fish tank 2 will definately help. If you are using tubs you can get away with one by adding some insulation and putting the ventilation holes in the proper location, but you may have to play with it and I would lean more in the direction of a heating element that covers 40% to 50% of the bottom of the tub rather than the standard 1/3 of the bottom of the tub.

I wouldn't waste the money, I mean its deff nice to have another one, but really not important. I have 2 BP's on the same thermostat, keeping the hot end at like 87-92 at all times. I dont know how cold your house is, but as long as you can keep the room there in at like 75, your golden. The ambient temp is not that critical IMO. I haven't been doing this that long, but have experimented a lot with this, and have not had ONE single problem keeping the ambient temps in the 70's. Just make sure there in the mid to upper 70's and your good.

Please do not post the same thread in multiple forums. Just choose the one that you think it fits best in and post it there. ;)

I'll just repost my response here to merge the two...

Well it's going to be hard to tell if you need two. It will depend on where in your room you cage is kept, how much sun it gets and a multitude of other factors. In short, you just won't know if you'll need two thermostats until you set up your warm side and measure temps. You may not need a second one if you can insulate your cage. As for those Repti Temp 500R, is that the thermometer or thermostat? I wouldn't recommend either. A simple accurite indoor/outdoor thermometer is cheaper, and I definitely would use one of their thermostats. I prefer the more expensive HerpStat, Helix or even the Ranco.

I'd say set up the enclosure with one thermostat and see if you can manage the temps without a second one. If you can't, then I'd go for the second one.

I hope that is some help.

More about my setup... i have a 40 gallon breeder tank, i am going to put a heat pad on 2/3 of the cage and set it to 80ish, and another one on 1/3 of the cage and set it to 90ish. i have two termometers, one on both sides, and i will tape the probes to the bottom on the tank dirctly on the heat tape, i have a humidity gauge that reads 26 but i am getting eco earth and forest bedding and mixing it together to raise the humidity, i also have a 75 watt basking bulb... i have to have the cold side heated because by room is on an outside wall and the temp in my room is 72, So is this good???

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As for those Repti Temp 500R, is that the thermometer or thermostat? I wouldn't recommend either. A simple accurite indoor/outdoor thermometer is cheaper, and I definitely would use one of their thermostats. I prefer the more expensive HerpStat, Helix or even the Ranco.

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My thermostat has two plugins on it but it will have the same temp set on both heat pads, do you know what im saying???

and with the herpstats and helixs, can you set two different temps???

Hi,

It sounds as though your heatpads are going to be different sizes (and therefore probably wattages ) so no they would be unlikely to be the same temps when connected straight to the same thermostat. That could make it difficult to get things right however.

You could, however, connect the cooler side heatmat through a rheostat and then connected to the thermostat. It will take a fair bit of tweaking and adjusting then waiting to see how it works out before you could be happy it was set up right though.

I would second tigerlilly's suggestion of insulating the tank first to see how much difference that makes.

You can get herpstats that can control different heaters to different temperatures if you can afford them. I don't know if they make helix's that do the same I'm afraid.

I am always a little squeamish about having the entire bottom of any enclosure covered with a heating element just in case anything goes wrong - perhaps anyone else could chime in on this?

Oh and definately don't tape anything inside the tank unless you are using low tack painters tape - the risk of injury if the snake gets stuck to regular tape just isn't worth the small amount of effort needed to find another method.

You would be better leaving the probes mobile rather than fixing them as you can then check the temps inside the hides on top of the substrate as well without having to buy anything else or tear up the setup.


dr del

I also have a heat gun that i will use to get temps in the hides. and i was going to tape the probes to the outside of the tank. not in side of the tank. and the heat pads are heatwatt flex tape so they would have the same watts jsut different sizes

Hi,

Ah, sorry I misread that, The probe you tape to the heatpad outside of the tank is the thermostat probe - there is no benefit in having thermometer probes there as they would only be second guessing the thermostat probe accuracy.

The thermostat reading isn't really all that critical as long as it holds steady and creates the right temperatures inside the tank where the animal is.

Keep the thermometer probes free and move them around inside the tank to make sure everything is corrct and turn the thermostat up or down until it is - if the thermostat has to be set to 98f to get the temps in the warm side to 93f then it really doesn't matter at all.

Just remember to measure the temp under the substrate too to make sure it doesn't get to a dangerous level and adjust the dept/ type of substrate until it is fixed if it does.

Also I have to correct your wattage point on the flexwatt - they are the same wattage per foot. So if one is longer or shorter then it has a different total wattage as a heater.


dr del

Ok but my thermostats do not have degrees shown it is just a dial, so do i still have to termometer in the tank, because i have a temp gun that can check the tank temp. so do i still have the termometer in the cage or can i put it under the tank???

Hi,

Well the tempgun can obviously check the surface temps easily - but it is less useful for reading the temps on the glass under the substrate so a probe one would be best for that I think.

Probes might also be easier to use for the inside of the hides but that depends really.

Incidently I found a link to a the thermostat that can do two seperate temps for you. :)


dr del

Ok I got the flexwatt heat tapes today, i set every thing up tell me if its ok... i hooked up on heat pad to one thermostat and i am setting it to 92 and i hooked up the other heat pad to the other thermostat and set it to 82 and i put the two thermometers that i had with probes under the towels ( i am getting eco earth and forest bedding in the mail this week and going to mix them...for more humidity) directly on the glass, so i think im set. thanks for all your help everyone!!!!

I'm not sure I understand why you put towels in the tank, but your temps will vary depending on the substrate you use as well as the amount of it. Is the Eco Earth the dried coconut husk bedding that comes in the bricks? If you are going for a loose substrate aspen would probably be a better substrate. Be careful too as the substrate will trap the heat under and you'll need to 'toss'/'fluff' the substrate so that it doesn't get too hot underneath. Which is another reason to watch the use of those towels. They will trap a lot of heat under them and your surface temp will be a LOT cooler than underneath. I use unprinted newspaper for mine, and there is relatively little heat that is trapped.

I am just using towels until i get the eco earth and forest bedding. and yes the eco earth is in those bricks and i do know that i will have to fluff it up every once and awhile, and that it traps heat under it, that is why i have the thermometer probe underneath the bedding so i can see what it is if my snake does burrow!!!

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Originally Posted by tjones

I am just using towels until i get the eco earth and forest bedding. and yes the eco earth is in those bricks and i do know that i will have to fluff it up every once and awhile, and that it traps heat under it, that is why i have the thermometer probe underneath the bedding so i can see what it is if my snake does burrow!!!

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You're using paper towels aren't you? :ohmygod: I had this vision of you using these thick bath towels. I have NO idea why. :slamhead: :giggle:

Okay, it sounds like you have things well in hand. Good luck getting the temps stabilized. :gj:

I also have a question regarding Thermostats and UTHs.

Is there an adhesive that I can place either on or around my UTH to secure it to my enclosure again?

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Originally Posted by CruelHerbie

I also have a question regarding Thermostats and UTHs.

Is there an adhesive that I can place either on or around my UTH to secure it to my enclosure again?

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Aluminum Tape.

Thank you! Is it a home depot trip or can it be ordered online?

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Originally Posted by CruelHerbie

Thank you! Is it a home depot trip or can it be ordered online?

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I would assume you can find it in stores and online.

Yeah, forgive my quick post there. One quick search with Rich and viola.

My Accurite probe is telling me that the UTH is throwing 107*F into my snake's enclosure.. but the Ranco Thermostat is running at 95 with a DIF of 1.. The other three enclosures are showing me low 90s with an instant read.. (Haven't been able to find more Accurites locally). The Accurite probe is placed between the substrate and the bottom of the enclosure.

Do you think that its time for a new Accurite or is there a larger problem? The instant reads low 90s when I place it near the Accurite probe.