• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Heat Mat Question

brindle said:
So you can't buy a heating pad WITH the thermostat? They are sold separately. I truly want to do the best for my snake! You can't buy thermostats at the pet store?
Click to expand...

I also live right in the middle of Canada (brrrr!) and I use an UTH with the Hydrofarm thermostat. They're super easy to use, you just secure the probe on the glass above the mat, plug them in together, and set the temperature. I bought them from Amazon and they weren't expensive. Check the Canadian and America Amazons, sometimes one is cheaper and sometimes the other is (factoring shipping, currency rates, etc.) You could probably buy thermostats from pet stores that carry reptile supplies or maybe indoor gardening places.

The people I bought my snakes from had been using lightless heat lamps and the snakes were healthy, but their first sheds at my house were not good. I switched them for mats and thermostats ASAP.
 
I just called my pet store and he said that he had (zoo med or another brand that I forget) and they have built in thermostats..?
 
I own a pet store, and have never seen a UTH with a built in thermostat. Can you call and ask them the brand?
 
Chip said:
I own a pet store, and have never seen a UTH with a built in thermostat. Can you call and ask them the brand?
Click to expand...
Perhaps I misunderstood. He just said that it was self regulating.
I don't shop online so I don't know where I would go about purchasing a thermostat...? He mentioned something else that made me wonder. He said that all that heating pads do (in our climate) is heat the belly for aiding digestion but it still does not heat the air. If the air stays fairly cool they are more likely to go into a state of brumation. So I should keep the UTH (I do have a small one) AND the lamp on at the same time (in different locations).
I feel very confused right now.
 
It heats the air. You can't just heat a surface, and it not impart heat into the atmosphere. If too much heat is escaping, drape part of the screen top and that will trap some of the heat in. If you won't shop online, I would ask someone at an independent store if they can order one for you. A lot of chain stores won't special order products. Maddening as I find that policy, it gets my shop a fair amount of business.
As for whether to use the lamp, the temperatures will answer that. A good, accurate thermometer is a must.
 
I agree, it will heat the air. Put one of their hides (preferably a cave with an open bottom) over the heat mat and it will be the right temperature in there.

Zoomed does make a thermostat but you would be buying it separate from the heat mat. Should run you in the range of $40. The heat mat would cost somewhat less depending on the size you need. The hydrofarm thermostat I have would definitely be available from a hydroponics/indoor gardening store. If you wanted to post or PM me the city you're in I might be able to help.
 
Can someone post a picture of an UTH with a thermostat on it. I'm kind of confused at how it works together...
 
There's nothing to be confused about :) once you buy it, it'll make sense. There's instructions, or use the search tab on this website to look for one.
Also, I'd avoid the pet store thermostats as there have been malfunctions happening lately with the Zoomed brand I believe (but not the UTH, just the thermostats). I believe that is the brand, but I think Nanci will know more about that.

Your snake will most likely not go into brumation unless you actively get them to. As in, I really doubt your home would be cool enough to activate that, especially with a proper heat source in the tank. I don't know about you but I like to keep my house set in the low 20'sC (or 70'sF).

Quite frankly, I think that pet store worker is talking out their ass.

:)

Ridgby & Marcy gave you great info that I think you overlooked.
Since you seem to have missed their post, I'll forward this for you:
http://www.amazon.ca/Jumpstart-Digi...92938896&sr=8-1&keywords=jumpstart+thermostat

That's a link to the thermostat they use, as well as myself, and MANY more herpers.
It's definitely worth it.
 
There isn't a UTH with a built in thermostat. The Hydrofarm that has been linked to numerous times in this thread is my go to "stat".

You plug the UTH into the thermostat. The thermostat plugs into an outlet. The UTH goes under your tank. I like to put the probe for the thermostat inside the tank on the glass right above the UTH. You set the temperature on the thermostat and it will maintain the UTH at that temperature +- a few °'s.

I also like to place the probe of a thermometer right next to the thermostat probe to double check.
 
brindle said:
Ok! Thanks guys! :D will invest in one!
Click to expand...

Yay! Everyone here gave the exact same answers I was going to give you. If you are worried about the ambient heat, add a few more hides. Always have one on the warm side and one on the cool, but even if you add a few tissue boxes or cardboard paper rolls (I don't know how big your corn is) in the middle of the viv that will help them with both temperature and security.

The thermostat I use is actually just a light dimmer switch, I buy them from Amazon or Lowes or Home Depot. There is no gauge on it to tell you the exact temp, but I started out with it slid halfway between low and high and just made a couple adjustments from there to find 85° and then added my snake. They are a cheaper option, only about $11 each, but for someone with just one snake I would go with a real thermostat.

Here is what most people here use:

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTP...1392977872&sr=8-2&keywords=thermostat+reptile

Here is my dimmer switch

http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-TBL03...8&qid=1392977699&sr=8-5&keywords=slide+dimmer

Here are the digital probe thermometers most people use.

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Digit...771&sr=8-4&keywords=probe+thermometer+digital
 
smigon said:
Yay! Everyone here gave the exact same answers I was going to give you. If you are worried about the ambient heat, add a few more hides. Always have one on the warm side and one on the cool, but even if you add a few tissue boxes or cardboard paper rolls (I don't know how big your corn is) in the middle of the viv that will help them with both temperature and security.

The thermostat I use is actually just a light dimmer switch, I buy them from Amazon or Lowes or Home Depot. There is no gauge on it to tell you the exact temp, but I started out with it slid halfway between low and high and just made a couple adjustments from there to find 85° and then added my snake. They are a cheaper option, only about $11 each, but for someone with just one snake I would go with a real thermostat.

Here is what most people here use:

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTP...1392977872&sr=8-2&keywords=thermostat+reptile

Here is my dimmer switch

http://www.amazon.com/Leviton-TBL03...8&qid=1392977699&sr=8-5&keywords=slide+dimmer

Here are the digital probe thermometers most people use.

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Digit...771&sr=8-4&keywords=probe+thermometer+digital
Click to expand...
I only have one snake, a female Okeetee phase, about 4.5 feet and pretty thick (not fat). I'll get her another hide so that she has one on the heated side and one on the cool side. Thanks for the recommendation, we are only trying to do the best for her.
 
Also wondered, as long as a pad is regulated by a thermostat, can I just get a UTH from the pet store by Zoo Med or some common brand like that?
 
Yep. :)
Some people prefer some brands over others, but I have tried three and find them about the same. The thermostat is the key ingredient there.
 
Most you will find at stores are pretty much identical -Flukers, Zoo-Med, Exo-terra, Zilla, etc. If you can find and Ultra-Therm, they are noticeably made differently, and I believe them to be higher quality.
 
You want to cover a quarter to a third of it, and you'll have a thermostat so that will be safe. Your tank is 36" X 18", so I'd go with the largest size. Even though higher wattage, they get less hot on the surface anyway.
 
So I don't know if you're still looking for photos, but I was cleaning the viv and took these. The first is the temperature probe, hot glued securely onto the glass above the heat mat (the black part)

This is the thermostat, which I hung up between the viv and the nearest outlet. The skinny wire at the left goes to the temperature probe, the middle wire is the heat mat plugged into the thermostat, and the right wire goes to the wall outlet. It's pretty easy to use.
 
smigon said:
The thermostat I use is actually just a light dimmer switch, I buy them from Amazon or Lowes or Home Depot. There is no gauge on it to tell you the exact temp, but I started out with it slid halfway between low and high and just made a couple adjustments from there to find 85° and then added my snake. They are a cheaper option, only about $11 each, but for someone with just one snake I would go with a real thermostat.
Click to expand...


I just want to make sure this is clear for anyone reading this thread. A dimmer switch (also called a rheostat) is NOT a thermostat. It does regulate the heat, but in a different way. A t-stat actually measures the temp, and adjusts the amount of electricity going to the heat mat to control the temperature. There are proportional t-stats that will turn the heat mat all the way on, halfway on, all the way off, or anywhere in between based on the temp the probe is reading. Proportional t-stats are considered the best because they usually keep the temperatures very stable. On/off t-stats don't have a way to turn the heat mat halfway on; it is either on or off, and thus the temperature will vary a little bit more. Both kinds of t-stats are responding to the temperature as measured by the t-stat probe, and thus are able to adjust to changes in the room temperature.

Rheostats/dimmer switches are somewhat like the proportional t-stats in that the heat mat can be turned all the way on, halfway on, all the way off, or anywhere in between. However, rheostats DO NOT do anything to respond to changes in the room temperature. For example, if the A/C in your house should fail during a hot summer day when you are at work, the rheostat will continue sending just as much electricity to the heat mat, and the hot spot is going to get quite a bit hotter than it should be.

Rheostats/dimmer switches are good ways of regulating the temperature in places where the room temperature is reasonably stable, as long as the person using them is aware of the limitations.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top