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Reptile thermostats

ImraanM

ImraanM

New member
Sorry for sounding stupid but since I have never been part of a community of snake lovers till I found these forums I'd
Never even heard of the thermostats some people use to regulate their reptiles cage temps. So I was wondering does it like adjust the amount of power going into the heat source (in my case a lamp) to adjust the temp? Or just turn on and off to adjust the temp
 
They keep the temperature of the heat source at a designated temp or range of temps.

They are necessary with any heat source for your reptiles, to prevent over heating.
 
Most here use under tank mats and generally heating lamps are not recommended for corn snakes, so I don't know if this could be used with a light. I know that rheostats, like lamp dimmers, can be used to control lights. I'm not sure that this kind of thermostat would be effective with a heat lamp. Somehow I missed your mention of a lamp. Ditch the lamp and use a heat mat instead. Your snake will thank you.
 
A heat lamp is ok for day time. Your snake needs to see and feel a difference between night and day. But you obviously can't leave an overhead lamp on all the time. The snake needs 12 hours of darkness too, but still needs the heat.

For that reason, most snake owners heat with a mat or pad below the tanks with a thermostat or rheostat attached to it. The Thermostats and Rheostats don't work with lights.

I have an overhead light on my Viv that is hooked to a timer. It comes on at 6am and goes off at 6 pm. Providing 12 hours daylight and 12 hours darness every day. The light also provides a chance for the snake to bask if he wants to and it increases the temperature in the tank by a couple of degrees. But when the light goes out, he still maintains his 85 degree "Hot Spot" because of the mat underneath.
 
UTHs are important for corn snakes because they need belly heat in order to properly digest their food. If you are looking for a cheap one, the ZooMed ones from Petsmart are fine. You want to cover ~1/3 of the tank. A thermostat is important to prevent the snake from getting a burn. The way I have mine set up is I have the UTH on the outside bottom of the viv and I have a probe for the thermostat between the UTH and viv. I set that thermostat to 103 degrees to make the glass bottom of my tank 88 degrees and on top of the substrate in my tank 85 degrees. If your snake can reach the bottom of your viv (under the substrate) make sure that is not too hot too.

I don't use any light at all, I just leave the window light open and the overhead light on (if necessary) in order to replicate a sort of 14 hour light 10 hour dark natural type situation.
 
Heads up on the zoo meds though, it SAYS will only increase 6-8 degrees.. that is not true.. depending on how you set it up and what substrate you use it can def heat it up quite a bit more than that. I was setting up the cage a while back, testing the heat mat, without a thermostat it went up to 104 and was still climbing.. so be VERY careful... without thermostat you can really hurt your snake..
 
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