Quote Originally Posted by schwartz2.0
What is a rheostat?
A dimmer. It controls the amount of current output to the UTH, but you have to manually adjust it when the room temperature fluctutes. I would buy a thermostat, and everyone here will tell you the same. Snake function similar to the thermostat that controls your house temperature. You need a thermostat with an Under Tank Heater, because the Under Tank Heater can get too hot and burn your snake.. For a recommended UTH brand, I use Exo-Terra cause it hasn't had a bad reputation of "hot spots," and it is works just like flexwatt.