Which Thermostat?

[g124v17y]

Hello everyone!

Looking forward to that fair on Saturday!!!!!!! Can't wait to get my corn! see everyone there at the food area around 2p.m.!

ANYWAYS! there are two different thermostats that I have found one is by Zilla and one is by Zoo Med. The Zoo Med one is the RT-500R, and the Zilla one is the 500 watt. Which one should I get? I foudn them both for under $30 so it doesn't really matter to me. However, I know that one of them is better so help me out.

Thanks,
Sam

 

[Fenderplayer108]

Im not familiar with the zoo meds, but I only trust helix. I have several of the helix dbs-1000, best ones I have ever used. http://www.helixcontrols.com/DBS-1000 grounded copy.jpg

 

[Blue Apple Herps]

I had a Zoo med and it did it's job ok. Temps would fluctuate a few degrees, but nothing major. I've since gotten a Herpstat and it's the best money I've spent on my snakes. Period. In retrospect I would have just gotten the herpstat from the get-go. It may seem like a lot of $$ but you don't want to skimp with the thermostat.

 

[clipclopclip]

I have actually had issues with Helix, and now I use Herpstat.

 

[g124v17y]

Since the ones that I were looking at were under $30 it didn't really matter, however, the ones that have been suggested so far are over $100 and that could pose an issue.

I now need to know what the best thermostat is, (for the money), and if the thermostat issue is really that big of a deal.

If not, then I will go with a cheaper one.

I am getting one corn snake, just as a pet, not breeding or doing anything special with it, so it seems sort of ridiculous to spend so much money on a thermostat. BUT then again I have no idea what I am talking about, considering this is my frist snake... PLEASE HELP!

 

[redneck]

Im having good luck so far with the big apple thermostat, i get about a 3 degree temp swing with it. It's suppose to be like the zoomed from what i have been told.

 

[Checkerbelly]

I agree with blue apple paste. My herpstats are great. I also have an analog Big Apple one. It's OK but harder to adjust.

The thing with a thermostat is this:
It's a matter of convience. Anybody can set their viv up on a UTH and a rheostat and then sit there and tinker with the rheostat every time the room temperature fluctuates. But if you're like me and gone for a few days at a time, you can't do that. You need a thermostat that won't over heat your snake. When you get a thermostat, you get what you pay for. A $100 one made by a company that makes temperature control devices for reptiles is going to be more accurate and reliable than a $30 one that's made by a company that makes Hermit Crab Peanut Crunchies and aquarium decorations.

 

[Nanci]

The ZooMed thermostat is fine, if a temp swing of a few degrees doesn't drive you crazy. The fluctuation is not going to hurt a cornsnake. I ran a bunch of ZooMeds for over a year, but gradually changed everything over to Herpstat. The Herpstat is a world of difference in terms of _my_ comfort. I set it at 84F, and it maintains that temp with only a few tenths of a degree variation. That makes me happy. Does the snake care? Probably not. I just like "techy" kinds of things. Considering I'm going to have the snakes, and the thermostats for 20 years- I chose the fancier thermostats.

The ZooMed is off/on. It supplies current, the pad heats up to the set temp, the thermostat cuts power, the pad continues to heat to some degree, then starts to cool. The stat turns it back on when it drops enough below the set temp.

The Herpstat, (or Helix) is a proportional thermostat. It supplies power, and as it nears the set temp, it decreases the power so the pad doesn't go above the set temp. As the temp drops, the stat supplies more power again. This allows the stat to maintain a less-fluctuating temp. That technology is why Herpstat/Helix is so much more expensive- they are quite a bit more complicated.

I like the fact that I can set my Herpstat ND to have high/low alarms. If it fails in either direction, if I'm home, I'll know.

 

[g124v17y]

Ok... that makes a lot of sense... I won't be home sometimes for the whole week so I think I need a more expensive one. I see that there are different types of herpstats, which one should I get? Or at least tell me the difference, :-]

 

[Checkerbelly]

I should say that I have no experience with the zoomed. Maybe they are uber reliable. I don't know. I do know that I haven't had a problem with my two herpstats in the past 2 years.

With any thermostat (on/off or proportional) the temperature fluctuation can be lessened by creating an air gap between the heat pad and the bottom of the viv. That will make the viv harder to heat, which means it will heat up more slowly, which gives the thermostat more time to adjust. Which means the temp won't swing up and down as much.

 

[insomniac101]

I use the Ranco ETC 111000. You can run six devices from it, with a total wattage capacity of 1500. It's an on/off type, but is very accurate, and temps only fluctuate by a degree or two. It's a mid-range priced model; about $80. I bought 6 of them, and am very happy with them.

http://www.reptilebasics.com/Ranco-ETC-111000-Pre-Wired-p-16172.html

Another model in your price range is the BAH 1000 from Big Apple Herp. I have one of these that I use in my quarantine room. They're about $40.

http://www.bigappleherp.com/BAH-1000-Thermostat?sc=2&category=15

There are a lot of choices out there. If you are only getting one snake, you would probably do fine with one of the lower-priced models. The problem is, I don't know of anyone who doesn't want more snakes after the first one!

Kathy

 

[Blue Apple Herps]

Ok... that makes a lot of sense... I won't be home sometimes for the whole week so I think I need a more expensive one. I see that there are different types of herpstats, which one should I get? Or at least tell me the difference, :-]

The biggest difference is the number of heating elements they can control independently. You probably only need the basic one. And when you think about the fact that you'll have this snake for 20+ years, $100 isn't that much to spend to ensure that they have a great set up. And given the possibility of what can go wrong with having a poor quality thermostat, it's just not worth risking IMHO.

 

[g124v17y]

I agree, whats $100 when your looking at a $20 year+ span?

Anyway, after doing some more snooping around I think I'm going to get the herpstat I.

However, for my beardie, With 3 lights on the top of his cage, and a ceramic heater, I might get a more expensive one.

 

[Nanci]

I agree, whats $100 when your looking at a $20 year+ span?

Anyway, after doing some more snooping around I think I'm going to get the herpstat I.

However, for my beardie, With 3 lights on the top of his cage, and a ceramic heater, I might get a more expensive one.

I'd get the ND- not for the night drop feature itself, you don't need that, but for the high/low alarms. The basic one doesn't have those. You know what else is great about Herpstat, the owner is readily available for questions. For instance, I put my first Herpstat on a two cage stack, with very little ventilation (and thus heat loss) compared to screen topped vivs. So there's an adjustment you can make, telling the Herpstat your enclosure is more efficient, but I just didn't know which way on the scale to set it- my choices were -2, -1, +1, +2. Dion straightened me out! I have six Herpstats and one BAH and I'm using a ZooMed out in my tortoise burrow.

I don't have my dragon on a thermostat at all- I just use an aquarium timer with day, night and all the time outlets, and I set the temps using bulb wattage. So the lights are on 12 hours (in the summer) and off 12 hours, and the ceramic heater is on at night only or all the time or off, depending on the season/room temp.

And everyone has probed digital thermometers from Big Apple.