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Husbandry and Basic Care General stuff about keeping and maintaining cornsnakes in captivity.

Thermostats
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Old 04-02-2013, 11:55 PM   #1
cagedbirdsinging
Thermostats

Alright, guys!

I am looking for the cheapest reliable thermostat for my UTH.

Now, it seem as though the Hydrofarm thermostats from Amazon are good, but for a third of the price, I could get one that may (hopefully) work nicely? Safety and maintaining a proper temperature for the health of my future snake is obviously the priority here, but I love to save money when I can.

Hydrofarm: http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...stat+hydrofarm

Generic Ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Ther...item5aefad8ce4

Thoughts?
 
Old 04-03-2013, 12:17 AM   #2
Buzzard
We have had HydroFarm thermostats for years and we really like them. They regulate temperatures very well. If you go with an alternative (especially a cheaper one) we recommend reading any customer feedback regarding the merchandise before purchasing. Remember, cheaper is not always better (you get what you pay for). A good thermostat is essential to the proper health (digestion and thermoregulation) of your animal(s).
 
Old 04-03-2013, 12:22 AM   #3
Amanda47
Do you have an electrical outlet that will take the generic one, or a converter thing? I'm no electrician, but hopefully you know what I'm talking about
 
Old 04-03-2013, 12:29 AM   #4
cagedbirdsinging
Good catch on the weird plug! I didn't even see that!

You're right... it probably isn't worth the savings. I'm already needing to order a few more supplies to complete the habitat from Amazon, so I might as well go with the one everyone likes!

While I have your guys' attention, what thermometer should I be looking at? Again, price is a priority that is second to accuracy.

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Digita...pr_product_top
 
Old 04-03-2013, 12:54 AM   #5
Amanda47
I have that thermometer paired with the Hydrofarm thermostat and there's about a two degree difference between them usually. I don't know which is less accurate, or if they're both fine and it's my sensor placement, but I think they're close enough for me.

I know a lot of people use that combo. Should be fine and very reasonable prices.
 
Old 04-03-2013, 01:47 AM   #6
SquamishSerpents
I have never used a Hydrofarm. I do highly recommend Herpstats, though! They are a little pricey, but worth it.

IMO the word "cheap" shouldn't even be in the same sentence as "thermostat" when we're talking about the health and safety of your animals.
 
Old 04-03-2013, 01:54 AM   #7
cagedbirdsinging
I absolutely did choose my wording poorly!

I would never want to put a price tag before safety, so that is why I wanted to ask for opinions before making any purchases.

I just looked up the Herpstat and that is definitely out of my range for now. I bookmarked it for a possible future purchase, though! Thank you for the recommendation.
 
Old 04-03-2013, 03:44 AM   #8
Nythain
Not sure if it's been pointed out yet, but the generic is coming from Hong Kong, and will take a LONG time to arrive (at least most products out of China have taken weeks to months in my experiences). Honestly, you can't go wrong with the HydroFarm... they're proven reliable and still cheap enough to make them probably the best entry level t-stat.
 
Old 04-03-2013, 03:53 PM   #9
mattsnake
I should reccomend the Zilla temperature controller. Reasonably priced. Its an on/off thermostat and it has a dial with the temp rather than a digital read out. The dial is fairly accurate, but you should have a digital thermometer. I have three of them now and haven't had a problem. Put the thermostat probe and your digital thermometer probe together with a dab of silicon and your good to go.
 
Old 04-03-2013, 03:58 PM   #10
SquamishSerpents
Quote:
Originally Posted by cagedbirdsinging View Post
I absolutely did choose my wording poorly!

I would never want to put a price tag before safety, so that is why I wanted to ask for opinions before making any purchases.

I just looked up the Herpstat and that is definitely out of my range for now. I bookmarked it for a possible future purchase, though! Thank you for the recommendation.
No worries, I just know that a lot of people are often blindsided by the cost of a good thermostat and opt to skip it because "the pet store told them to." Arrrgh!

And great, the Herpstats have been my favorite so far. I've used them since I got into this hobby. Dion at SpyderRobotics (the manufacturer) is amazing - I once had a Herpstat fail on me (the old type, it did not come with a user-replaceable fuse) due to a power surge I suspect, and even though it was out of warranty, they took it back and did the repair, and upgraded it to a user-replaceable fuse and the thermostat is still going strong today. Can't recommend them highly enough!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nythain View Post
Not sure if it's been pointed out yet, but the generic is coming from Hong Kong, and will take a LONG time to arrive (at least most products out of China have taken weeks to months in my experiences). Honestly, you can't go wrong with the HydroFarm... they're proven reliable and still cheap enough to make them probably the best entry level t-stat.
And oops, I totally missed that part...the generic is NOT something I would trust at all. Any electronics I've ordered off eBay (mostly iPhone chargers/android chargers/auxillary cords etc have all failed and failed rather quickly. For something to control heating...I'd be a little worried by cheapie eBay things.

I haven't used the Zilla as recommended above, but I have heard good things about it. I used a Repti-Temp 500R on my boa enclosure for a little while, but I found that it was rather inconsistent. It is an on/off type (ideally, you want proportional) and I found that the temperature swings by up to 7 degrees depending on the ambient temps of my room. Not the greatest.
 

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