I have a potentially fatal problem

[Peter Williams]

Ok, I have a bp and a leopard gecko. On both of their tanks is is an exo terra heat pad. Since I've had both of them their temps have been pretty good (about 90 for the leo and 93 for the bp). But NOW with the hot weather these temps have just skyrocketed. I did buy a lamp dimmer for the leo's heat pad to bring it down just below 90 but its so hit and miss with that. I want a permanent solution, I want a freakin' thermostat. But I don't want to have to order on of the internet, they seem to be very elusive around these parts. Does anyone have any ideas about what I should do?

[Gooseman]

All I can say is order on the internet, and get it overnighted shipped.

[mlededee]

you might just have to order one. a thermostat is a necessity--you should go ahead and order now so it will be there before your temps get too out of control...

[Peter Williams]

ok well is there any one that I can hook both into and have them pumping out 2 different temperatures?

[JLC]

Why not order one over the Internet? Give Rich at ReptileBasics a call and he'll get ya hooked up. A Johnson Control or a Ranco should do just fine for either of those cages. You definitely need something and the sooner you order it, the sooner you'll get it. You can order it today and have it delivered within 24 hours....or you can spend a week looking for something comporable locally and not finding it. (The t-stats you might find in a petstore are notoriously faulty and not very accurate to begin with...I would NOT waste money on one of those!)

[Ginevive]

Order from Rich at Reptile Basics. I ordered from him personally and was stunned by the high level of customer service, the speed with which he shipped my items, and the care he took in wiring the Flexwatt. Heck, if someone online DID scam you andyou paid by credit card.. simply call your CC company and report it as fraud. my neighbor merely threatened to do this to a dishonest merchant, and they sent his stuff to him right away and even refunded him. A reputable biz does not want to go there, in regards to CC fraud..
Those heatpads are fine If they are regulated! They can get well over 100 degrees if not, and I would even be afraid that they could start a fire at that temperature or melt something.. they really need to be regulated. i would eevn just get a rheostat at the pet store as a temporary solution. I actually use these now, until my eggs are done incubating and I can yoink their Helix for my snakes.. but there cna be no temperature fluctuation in the room.

[JLC]

ok well is there any one that I can hook both into and have them pumping out 2 different temperatures?

There IS a t-stat that can control two different temps like that, but I believe it costs more than twice as much as two of the less expensive models. But if you call Rich and ask, he'll let ya know for sure.

[Peter Williams]

oh crap theres no way I can afford 2 of these

[mlededee]

oh crap theres no way I can afford 2 of these

you are going to have to. that expense is something you should have taken into account before you even got the animals. it is a necessity, and honestly, i can't believe you've gone this long without any thermostat or other temperature control. that is extremely dangerous and potentially fatal (like you said), so why in the world would you risk it?

[SatanicIntention]

For a more economical temporary solution, you can get the thermostat for the Ball Python's heat mat, set the tstat so the temp is 93-94, then plug your dimmer INTO the thermostat's power strip, the same way you did your BP's heat mat. Then dial down the dimmer until the temp is perfect in the Leopard Gecko's enclosure. It shouldn't fluctuate when you do it that way.

I use this method in a similar way on one of my juvie Ball racks. Hot side flex gets plugged directly into tstat, set tsat to 94, cool side flexwatt gets plugged into a dimmer, which in turn gets plugged into the tstat. It has kept temps rock steady for the past year. The Lutron dimmers I use are 300watts, so they can easily hold a good few feet of flexwatt.