Can a baby ball accidently drown?

[Chocolate Muffin's]

Do you have an UTH? You should have a thermostat or at least a lamp dimmer hooked up to that to control the UTH.

I sure wish I had this stuff -thank you for telling me. Geeze there's still so much to learn : )

[Chocolate Muffin's]

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[Elise.m]

When it comes to Ball Pythons, I don't think the learning will ever end! Lol, at least sometimes that's what it feels like. It's good to keep an open mind.

I ordered my Thermostats over the internet from www.bigalsonline.com I just got the Repti Temp 500R. It can control two UTHs, I just haven't figured out how to properly do it.

Also, You don't have to remove the sticky tape from the UTH to use it. I have two right now that still have the paper on it, and they're working fine. No fires, temps are fine. I stuck my first one on my glass tank, I was so mad when I found out I didn't have to!

[Chocolate Muffin's]

When it comes to Ball Pythons, I don't think the learning will ever end! Lol, at least sometimes that's what it feels like. It's good to keep an open mind.

I ordered my Thermostats over the internet from www.bigalsonline.com I just got the Repti Temp 500R. It can control two UTHs, I just haven't figured out how to properly do it.

Also, You don't have to remove the sticky tape from the UTH to use it. I have two right now that still have the paper on it, and they're working fine. No fires, temps are fine. I stuck my first one on my glass tank, I was so mad when I found out I didn't have to!

Wow really? I m going to take a look at that website because I really want my snakes to be happy and healthy. I guess I should have checked with this site before talking to the vet. I have already attached the UTH to the glass, but I am really in need of a thermostat - I hope it can also regulate the overhead heat lamps.

[flynn]

You may want to consider running a dimmer switch inline incase there is any issue with the Repti Temp. If it breaks in the 'on' position it would not be a good result.

I use a dimmer switch even with a herpstat because I trust nothing. Better safe than sorry, especially for the $10-$20 a dimmer switch would cost.

[cinderbird]

you can use 1 thermostat to control multiple heating sourses as long as they are the SAME wattage and size (example: it is a fire hazard to use a 10gal size UTH and a piece of 1foot 4'' flexwatt on the same thermostat). IF you have the exact same type of heating sources on both (all) enclosures that are the same size its fine.

I recommend the Jonhson Controls or Ranco thermostats, you can get them from Rich at ReptileBaics.com (Rich has the BEST customer service in the industry, you can trust him completely). The Johnson and Ranco are about 80 prewired and ready to use out of the box. It may seem expensive..but honestly, its THE most important part in your husbandry system (yes, even more important than your snakes, because without a temp control device you could have an accident happen where your beloved pets are harmed or even killed). With a thermostat, you can set it and forget it. And the johnson/rancos are a medium price thermostat that is reliable and safe.

[Chocolate Muffin's]

You may want to consider running a dimmer switch inline incase there is any issue with the Repti Temp. If it breaks in the 'on' position it would not be a good result.

I use a dimmer switch even with a herpstat because I trust nothing. Better safe than sorry, especially for the $10-$20 a dimmer switch would cost.

Hi Flynn, I am so glad to be having this discussion, because I know absolutely nothing about how these electronic devices work - In fact, I want to dovetail my question into a question for you and cinderbird....

See below : )

[Chocolate Muffin's]

you can use 1 thermostat to control multiple heating sourses as long as they are the SAME wattage and size (example: it is a fire hazard to use a 10gal size UTH and a piece of 1foot 4'' flexwatt on the same thermostat). IF you have the exact same type of heating sources on both (all) enclosures that are the same size its fine.

I recommend the Jonhson Controls or Ranco thermostats, you can get them from Rich at ReptileBaics.com (Rich has the BEST customer service in the industry, you can trust him completely). The Johnson and Ranco are about 80 prewired and ready to use out of the box. It may seem expensive..but honestly, its THE most important part in your husbandry system (yes, even more important than your snakes, because without a temp control device you could have an accident happen where your beloved pets are harmed or even killed). With a thermostat, you can set it and forget it. And the johnson/rancos are a medium price thermostat that is reliable and safe.

Hi Cinderbird,

Thanks so much for the info. I am very interested in getting more information about this, and I will definitely call them, and order. What I'm not clear on is the difference between a 'dimmer' a 'rheostat' and this device. Maybe I can ask 'Rich' but I feel like if I don't know what I'm talking about, I'll just end up being more confused. I have two UTH for the same size tank. I need a bigger tank for ‘Fatty’ but don’t have any heat source for it, so she can’t go in it yet. I also have 4 over head lamps at different wattage levels that need to be turned on and off at different times. What can I purchased to bring all of these things in concert? Will the Ronco/Johnson products do that?

Sorry for my ignorance, I just really want to get this right. I appreciate everyone’s help.

[flynn]

I'll add that a rheostat is the same as a dimmer switch. Essentially like the tap on a sink to allow more or less power to get to the heating device. The concern with using these is that you may set the rheo to provide enough power for your heatmat to be 95f while your room temp is 75f. However when the room temp increases, so does the temp of the heatmat. A thermostat will compensate for the ambient temperature.

As far as your lights go, you can pickup a simple lamp timer for 10-20 bucks. If you need to run a few lamps at different times then you may want to consider a power-bar that has a digital timer built in. These can be found at most pet stores these days for around $30-$50.

I'm not experienced with the Johnson Controls or Ranco thermostats so I will let someone else comment on them.

[Kaorte]

Are you measuring temps with a digital thermometer with a probe? I feel like you have WAY to many heating sources for your tanks.

You shouldn't need more than one UTH and maybe one lamp per enclosure. More then that is just over kill, unless you live in an igloo or something.

A rheostat and a dimmer are basically the same thing, they basically just "dim" the heat similarly to how you would dim lights. A thermostat regulates the temperature based on the reading it gets from a probe thermometer. You attach the probe to the heat source and set the thermostat to click on when it falls below a certain temperature and click off when it reaches the ideal temperature. A proportional thermostat is one that doesn't click on and off, it just limits the power going to the heat source to lower the temperature. Kind of like a dimmer with a thermometer probe to measure the temp.