Rheostat Malfunction? Yikes!

[Lolo76]

So buy another dimmer to use while you downsize your collection. Just selling a few snakes would give you plenty of money for a Herpstat 2 which would be perfect for two racks. I would also suggest looking around for a used one. Many people are downsizing their collection so they are hitting the market pretty often.

I have a handful of snakes listed for sale right now, but so far nobody has replied... I'm almost desperate enough to sell them to the vivarium (East Bay), but really want to avoid that if possible. I'll see what I can do for the time being, but even $340 isn't doable at the moment.

I will look for a used one, though, and thanks for your advice thus far. Sorry if I seem at all defensive, I've just been stressing over the whole situation for a while. I don't want to sell my snakes!

[KMG]

I have a handful of snakes listed for sale right now, but so far nobody has replied... I'm almost desperate enough to sell them to the vivarium (East Bay), but really want to avoid that if possible. I'll see what I can do for the time being, but even $340 isn't doable at the moment.

I will look for a used one, though, and thanks for your advice thus far. Sorry if I seem at all defensive, I've just been stressing over the whole situation for a while. I don't want to sell my snakes!

I was just letting you know wherever you priced it has a good mark up on them.

[Lolo76]

I was just letting you know wherever you priced it has a good mark up on them.

That price was on Amazon... I hadn't "shopped around" yet, just grabbed the first listing I saw. Do you think I could find a used one on Fauna or Kingsnake?

[Lolo76]

I'll email you a bit later (still at work, lol) - also in regards to the PM you sent.

- - - Updated - - -

Btw, I had my neighbor (who has a key to my place) check on the snakes about an hour ago... she said the temperature is 81, so at least I know they're not cooking right now!

[KMG]

That price was on Amazon... I hadn't "shopped around" yet, just grabbed the first listing I saw. Do you think I could find a used one on Fauna or Kingsnake?

Yes.

I have actually bought one on here and two on fauna. My Herpstat4 I bought new from Spyderrobotics.

[Lolo76]

When I got home tonight, I realized two things... first, the "rheostat" which malfunctioned was actually a thermostat, as it did allow me to dial in a specific temperature. But it was one of those cheap models (ZooMed?) and around 4-5 years old, so I guess it just reached the end of its life.

The other thing I realized was that the thermostat which controls another rack is a Herpstat, probably the base model and about 5 years old. It hasn't failed me yet, however, and always holds temps very reliably. So I hooked up one of the heat strips from the other rack (which had the malfunction), and it's measuring a steady 95F directly on the tape now.

I don't know the model name/number of that Herpstat, but will post a picture below. Do you think it could handle controlling two racks for a while? The one it controls now is a 4-tub 40qt Boaphile with one cord attached to all heat strips, and the other rack has 5 shelves with 5 separate cords for the strips. I'd have to get creative with the extension cords, but that's worked fine in the past (with a functioning thermostat). At least it could be a temporary solution, as I wasn't able to find anything decent at the pet shop.

Here's that Herpstat:

[KMG]

Are the two racks flexwatt the same width? If the flexwatt is not identical it could cause different temps in the two racks. I bet the tstat will handle the load but I would look on the back for its rating and make sure the two racks stay within it.