Thermostats, controlling temp. and the best place to get them

[Rascal]

Hey, I know there are afew *****stat threads already but I thought they were to focused. I'm still working on my setup and need some help.

I'm working with an adult (?) BP

Rheostats vs. Thermostats: Why do I hear horror stories about Rheostats? Whats the differance between the two?

Heat tape vs. heating pad: I'm using a 'human' heating pad right now about 4"x6" I put it under the glass tank and it covers about 1/3 or less of the space. Do I need to get a Rheo/Thermostat to regulate its temp? On its medium setting ive measured the temp to be about 90. Right now i'm more or less controlling the temp by adding or taking away substrate ontop of the heating pad.

Heat pad/tape vs. Heat lamp: I read that heatlamps suck out the humitity from the tank. Should this be a concern? Should i use only heatpads?

Also, i'm using a 50w heat bulb right now but the temp is abit low. I want to bump it up to a 100w. The lamp is about 1, 1/2 feet or so off the bottom of the tank but im going to get some branches for my snake to bask on.

Opinions? Would 50w be enough once i have an elevated branch?
The air temp of the tank is on the low side right now. and i need help!

Last thing. Wheres the best place to buy a thermostat. I don't want to spend anything over $100 but i don't want a piece of shhhht either. What the best most reliable brands and models to look for? Where is the cheapest place to find them online?

THanks

[West Coast Jungle]

Try http://www.mgreptiles.com/index.html they have a great selection of thermostats. If its a glass tank i'd use a stick on heat pad on one side (it's easy on a glass setup) connected to the thermostat and the probe of the thermostat can be taped on the inside of the glass were the heat pad is. Also get a digital hi/lo thermometer with a humidity monitor and also tape the probe to the same area so you can monitor the temps and adjust the thermostat as needed. I've used all kinds of thermostats and now use the Herpstat line exclusively. They are pricier but far superior. Mosts thermostats turn the heat pad on 100% and they crank up and pass the temp the shut of and cool fast (either on or off). The herpstat thermostat gradually increases and decreases amount of power to heating device (10%, 20%, 80%) as needed to keep steady control and not too much then too little. Hopr this helps. Don't use rheostats they don't measure temps accurately. Heat bulbs and overhead heating do dry the air. High light can be stressful to BP's. Undertank heating is best for BP's.

[Rascal]

My heating pad i'm using has its own adjuster going from Low-Med-High. Would a cheaper thermostat that only supports on/off be.. "compatible" with that? if i set it to 'medium' it would it just try to draw full power?

Also. Its 70 degrees in my room right now. and likewise in the snake tank.. Its about 90 degrees underneath the hide where shes staying. I don't know how else i could raise the air temp of the whole tank besides getting a higher Watt heat lamp. Is the solution to put heat tape under half of my tank connected to a thermostat? I'm not entirely convinced thats going to work it out.

[piranhaking]

I am pretty sure that using an on/off thermostat would be no different than unpluggin the heat pad and then plugging it back in. There should be no way the thermostat could increase the output of the pad. As far as increasing air temp if you close off most of the tank lid with something to prevent air flow. That would increase air temp, by trapping the heat from the pad from escaping the tank (the same as if you leave the door open on the fridge, all the cold air escapes)

[Stewart_Reptiles]

My heating pad i'm using has its own adjuster going from Low-Med-High. Would a cheaper thermostat that only supports on/off be.. "compatible" with that? if i set it to 'medium' it would it just try to draw full power?

Also. Its 70 degrees in my room right now. and likewise in the snake tank.. Its about 90 degrees underneath the hide where shes staying. I don't know how else i could raise the air temp of the whole tank besides getting a higher Watt heat lamp. Is the solution to put heat tape under half of my tank connected to a thermostat? I'm not entirely convinced thats going to work it out.

If you want something cheap the first thermostat I know of start at around 25 dollars they are fine for beginners but again you get what you pay for here is where you can buy it Reptile Supply the name is ESU One outlet or ESU 3 outlets

[Shaun J]

Those thermostats are worthless IMO. I gave them two chances, only to almost cook my snake.

You should not be using a human heat pad. They aren't made to be run 24 hours a day. Very risky.

I love my Ranco, I got it from www.reptilebasics.com . Not cheap but it works MUCH better than those cheap ones. MGreptiles have been having alot of complaints lately and personally I wouldn't buy from them.

[Sadie]

About using dimmers/rheostats: David and Tracy Barker of VPI say it their new (2006) book that "Some keepers advocate the use of thermostats [to control heating devices], while others use rheostats. We are in the rheostat camp for several reasons."
1) cost less
2) fail less, and with less serious consequences, than a thermostat
3) "give our snakes a more constant variation of temperatures as the ambient temperatures in our snake rooms change"

Talking about failure, their experience was that rheostats tended to cut off power in a failure while the thermostats tended to stick on full power.

Rheostats do not measure temperature- that is why they are less accurate as well as the natural flucuations in ambient temp. They simply create a gradient so that you may use the heat source at low-med-high power. With your heat pad set on "med", connecting a rheostat would (in theory) allow you to use the pad at low-med, med-med and hi-med power. I wouldn't because, as was already said, human heating pads are not designed for this purpose and you're inviting trouble.I have the cheap Zoomed rheostat (150W) and no problems so far.

Also Matt at MGReptiles reports several complaints of failure with the Helix thermostat. He won't carry it.

About the lamp- yes, it kills humidity but there is usually no way around using one in an aquarium, unless you heat the whole room. The heat pad/heat tape does not warm the air sufficiently. However first limit air flow and insulate the glass so that it holds the heat better. Use a thinner substrate (like paper). A branch may not be the best idea as balls are not really climbers and may not use it. They're more hide-oriented. Proper temps need to be measured at the floor.

Sorry for the long post, hope that helps! Just read everything you can on heating and make up your mind from there. And you do get what you pay for. The only option that may be equally safe and slightly cheaper would be to buy a thermostat from a home hardware store and wire it yourself.

[jglass38]

Also Matt at MGReptiles reports several complaints of failure with the Helix thermostat. He won't carry it.

.

Absolutely ridiculous. Lets keep in mind that Helix are the industry standard in high quality thermostats. I happen to use Herpstats (www.spyderrobotics.com) and they are an excellent stat but they don't have the many, many years of proven experience that the Helix brand does. If you want a Helix, you can get it from Rich at Reptile Basics (www.reptilebasics.com). He is a super guy and gets your order out extremely fast via a trackable carrier. Just my opinion...

[SatanicIntention]

I haven't had any issues with my thermostats, especially when I have dimmers attached to said thermostats(to control cool side as well). The only issues I have had is with the flimsy probes that the Herpstat 2 originally came with(the white, thin ones). When one failed, it was the one controlling the warm side(probe one). It turns everything off and beeps... incessantly... until you actually click on the controlling buttons for the tstat and turn the temp range to OFF. So I got sent a replacement, the grey probe they currently use, and it's been fine ever since. Same thing happened with the 2nd white probe. Failed, turned everything off, I manually had to set it to OFF so it wouldn't beep and everything was fine.

I've had more trouble with crappy thermostats such as the ESU or Alife or whatever the pet stores sell. I'd rather spend $40-$50 more to save the lives of my animals that I have worked hard to raise and care for, than to save a few bucks and have one fail and catch the whole room on fire. Dimmers I don't trust much farther than I can throw them, unless they're attached to a quality thermostat(like mine are). Dimmers and low-quality thermostats fluctuate, and with animals such as Ball Pythons who don't like fluctuations in their temps, you'll quickly have a non-eating snake who may have burns on their tummy from an overheating "thermostat".

[Rascal]

I was at a pet store and I noticed ceramic heat lamps. Any luck with those? They're pretty damn expensive though too. They wanted $40 there.

Also what wattage should I be using? Is 150 to much?
I'd say the bulb is currently a foot and a half off the bottom of the tank.