Thermostats

[snakedude56]

I have a couple questions about thermostats. First one is can u control the temps of multiple cages with just one thermostat. and also I currently use thermomaters(one at each end near the floor with a hygrometer in the middle) and these work just fine at telling me the correct temps (warm side 92, cool side 84 via uth) my snakes are healthy and happy and eat one appropriately sized fuzzy every 5-6 days as they are only about a month old so i guess wht I'm asking is is it necesary to have a thermostat? if it is then i do plan on getting one
oh yeah and i just wanna thank everyone here for bein so kind and helpful!

[jglass38]

I have a couple questions about thermostats. First one is can u control the temps of multiple cages with just one thermostat. and also I currently use thermomaters(one at each end near the floor with a hygrometer in the middle) and these work just fine at telling me the correct temps (warm side 92, cool side 84 via uth) my snakes are healthy and happy and eat one appropriately sized fuzzy every 5-6 days as they are only about a month old so i guess wht I'm asking is is it necesary to have a thermostat? if it is then i do plan on getting one
oh yeah and i just wanna thank everyone here for bein so kind and helpful!

First question, yes if the cages all use the same wattage of heating element and as long as you dont exceed the total wattage of the tstat.

What do you control the temps with now to get them perfect? A rheostat (dimmer switch) can be used but tstats are much more accurate and more importantly safer.

[elevatethis]

I'm assuming you have one of those zoo-med UTH's? Those can develop major hot spots and malfunction if not controlled by a good tstat.

You can control multiple heat sources on one thermostat given 1) the heat sources don't exceed the max wattage of the thermostat 2) the heat sources are identical 3) the cages are identical or very similar in size and placed in the same area.

All in all, I'd say using a thermostat is absolutely necessary with UTHs, flexwatt, CHEs, everything. These heat sources can get extremely hot if left uncontrolled for long periods of time. I've seen more than enough burned snakes to know this.

[elevatethis]

jamie beat me to the kill....woof woof.

[xdeus]

FYI, the Herpstat II can handle two different heat sources and has two probes to control them independently, however it cost about as much as two single Herpstats. It does have more bells and whistles than the individual units, though.

[snakedude56]

yea i use an exoterra uth, i monitor the temps with thermomaters i got at the pet store my snakes are housed in sterilite containers and is there any retails stores where i could purchase a thermostat or should i get one offline cus i saw some on mg reptiles

[mr~python]

are your thermometers those dial orsticker ones? if they are you want to get a digital thermometer, because those sticker and dial thermometers are usually way off.

you dont NEED a thermostat but they do make controlling temps WAY easier. what you could do is go to Lowes or another store like that and get a 'plug and play' dimmer there for 8-10 bucks. i use one for my ackie and it works great.

[snakedude56]

wht does the plug and play do? and also all of the tstats ive looked at say they come with one probe and the others dont look like they include anymore than that so how are they supposed to monitor multiple cages? will i need to buy more than one. (sorry for all the questions i just wanna make sure my little guy and girl are as healthy and happy as humanly possible)

[elevatethis]

For a thermostat like a ranco, jc, herpstat, or helix, there's one probe that controls one of the heat sources. Probe placement can be tricky with multiple cages since while it controls the one cage, the other cage without the probe may or may not be at the same temperature as the other, due to variables involved in your particular setup.

The trick is to place the single probe in such a way that both heat sources are where you want them to be.

[mr~python]

wht does the plug and play do?

well a lot of the other dimmers you have to wire but there's one (i think its made by Lutron) that you just plug into the wall, then plug in your heat source and its ready to go.