Lamp Dimmers?

[Raven01]

So, back to the OP, can anyone tell me why I shouldn't use a dimmer on my UTHs if I've got thermostat regulated CHEs?

You CAN use a dimmer on the UTH, it is not the best choice though.
Hydrofarms are pretty cheap I've paid more than $30 for a light dimmer in my room so I don't see much sense in going for a 2nd best option when there really is only a minimal savings.
But, if the room the snake is in can be kept at a very constant temp then a dimmer can work. If the ambient temp in the room swings the dimmer won't help keep the hot spot at the same temp.

What I would use a dimmer for, is to tone down the heat output of say 150 farm grade infrared bulbs. And, that would still be on a thermostat. The reason I would do this is 150W farm infrared bulb is about $10 here while the exoterra 75W infrared bulb is $17 almost $18. Also, running a higher rated bulb in a constant or near constant "on" cycle should contribute to longer bulb life.
I don't know if there is much to be gained from doing this with CHE's which to my understanding already have a very good service life.

And, you might want to start saving for something bigger than a 10 gallon or researching tubs/racks or terrarium/vivarium builds.

[ChaosAffect]

You CAN use a dimmer on the UTH, it is not the best choice though.
Hydrofarms are pretty cheap I've paid more than $30 for a light dimmer in my room so I don't see much sense in going for a 2nd best option when there really is only a minimal savings.
But, if the room the snake is in can be kept at a very constant temp then a dimmer can work. If the ambient temp in the room swings the dimmer won't help keep the hot spot at the same temp.

What I would use a dimmer for, is to tone down the heat output of say 150 farm grade infrared bulbs. And, that would still be on a thermostat. The reason I would do this is 150W farm infrared bulb is about $10 here while the exoterra 75W infrared bulb is $17 almost $18. Also, running a higher rated bulb in a constant or near constant "on" cycle should contribute to longer bulb life.
I don't know if there is much to be gained from doing this with CHE's which to my understanding already have a very good service life.

And, you might want to start saving for something bigger than a 10 gallon or researching tubs/racks or terrarium/vivarium builds.

A rack system is definitely in my future. I've probably got until the end of the summer to worry about that, though. From what I've seen I can pick up a dimmer for about $10 at Home Depot, which, combined with the Hydrofarm should handle anything that Georgia can throw at it for the near future. I'll be saving up for a better Thermostat for the rack system that I'll inevitably purchase. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing some serious downside to the dimmer on the UTHs, like "It'll blow up and burn your house down." Two thermostats seems like overkill to me since the one will already be regulating the overall temp of the tank and the UTHs only need to provide a consistent temperature hot spot, something they'll do fine as long as the ambient doesn't change that much.

[treeboa]

I've been using dimmers for 20 + years with no problem. My snake room stays within 2-3 degrees. I set the temps in summer and leave them in winter when most of my snakes are brumating anyway.

[ChaosAffect]

I've been using dimmers for 20 + years with no problem. My snake room stays within 2-3 degrees. I set the temps in summer and leave them in winter when most of my snakes are brumating anyway.

And you've got to deal with temperature extremes much more severe than anything I'm going to encounter down here. Thanks for that info, that definitely tells me that I'll be fine going ahead with this setup.