When a back up thermostat isn't enough...

[El Jefe]

You know what sucks....overheating your snakes!

You would think having a backup thermostat in line incase the main one fails would be enough. In the very least, if the back up fails the main one should hold. I check my stupid thermostats just about every week to make sure they are all working and wouldn't you know it....I'm in the building Thursday night and everything is fine...but by the time I come Friday morning my python cage is overheated! SUCKS!!! Turns out BOTH the backup thermostat AND the main thermostat failed at the same time so the lights just stayed on...and who knows when...probably sometime in the middle of the night...enough time to get the cages nice and hot. Well, there are 6 cages with single snakes in each: 3 blood pythons, a burm, a boa and my 6ft black rat in the top cage just so het could stretch out instead of going in a rack. The black rat is dead. One of the blood pythons is not doing well. But fortunately, the rest of them seem to being doing okay. They were all on the 'cold' side of the cage when I found them and I immediatley opened cages to vent the hot air and changed the warm water to cool water. I even soaked the snakes in cooler water and that seemed to help. Now it is just a matter of time to see if there are any long term effects. One of the blood pythons had eaten the day before and did not regurge so I take that as a fairly good sign he didn't get too hot as I would imagine his body would do weird things and he may regurge. The blood python that isn't doing well is my largest so maybe she absorbed too much heat? And the black rat, well...he was the only colubrid in the set of cages and perhaps he just couldn't take the higher temps like the others? I don't know?

I'm very bummed and I'm not sure how I could have prevented it. Just about every thermostat in the building is a set of two...one main, one back up. Now I'm wondering if I need to do triples? This sucks!

By the way, for those of you who care, the type of thermostat I've used in the past are the Alife brand. Pretty much the same as the ESU ones as well. I have 20+ setup and I've been using them for years and they work very well. I've always been paranoid about them failing so almost all are doubled up...especially the lighted cages and incubators where overheating is much more a possibility. Any suggestions on better thermostats?

 

[diamondlil]

So sorry, that's awful. I know in fishkeeping each thermostat/heater has equal chances of failing and cooking your tropical fish, which is why I've tried to minimise the risk by having 2 smaller units instead of 1 big one in my tank,because they almost always fail in the 'on' position rather than 'off'.
This type of thermostat has an alarm, maybe that would help? I'm thinking of getting it for my new rack-to-be
http://www.petzoo.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=711

 

[Nanci]

Jeff, I'm so sorry about your black rat!!!!!! And I thought that type of stat was supposed to have a shut down at 110F. That sucks so much. I'm so sorry.

Well, I discovered today that Spyder Robotics is having a Thanksgiving sale form November 21-30. The Herpstat ND has alarms. It also has internal error detection that shuts it down if the sensor fails. (He also has a discussion on his site about back up thermostats- but you were already doing that!!)

Nanci

 

[Tom Tuttle]

Jeff,
Sorry to hear of your troubles. I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for, That being said I trust my Helix Dbs 1000 & also use Johnson Controls. The Helix is used on my pythons & other species which require night time drops. I use Johnson Controls on my colubrids, set to a timer.
Hope this helps.

 

[Roy Munson]

I'm really sorry to hear that Jeff. The herp hobby has been big business for a long time, it's surprising that most of our heating options are still so unsafe. I've been really happy with my Spider Robotix Herpstats. I had a problem with my Helix once, but it is reliable as long as it's only being used for half of its rated capacity. :rollseyes:

Too bad about the black rat. I really hope the pythons make it.

 

[Mrs InsaneOne]

That's so terrible about the black rat and the python(s) that is(are) not doing so well. Really, what were the chances that all of the thermostats (including the back-ups) would go all at once.

I hope the python(s) pull through for you.

Jenn

 

[El Jefe]

Thanks for all the kind words and the suggestions. I, too, have Johnson Control thermostats but they are mainly on my incubators and a few other areas. Guess I should have had them on this particular set of python cages. I just figured with the ones I had that if I set one as a main and one as a back-up I'd be safe if a failure ever happened....and we see how well that worked.

Nanci--how much of a sale on the Spider Robotix Herpstats?

Tom--Know of any good places for more Helix or Johnson Controls?

The python is still alive, but is acting very odd. All the others seem to being doing well. I'll keep you updated.

 

[Bobo's Mama]

I've only got 7 snakes compared to your many, and I'm just a pet hobby type person, but I swear by my Herpstats. They are great thermostats.

 

[Nanci]

Nanci--how much of a sale on the Spider Robotix Herpstats?

$10 off the two cheaper models, $20 off the expensive models.

Nanci

 

[Jrgh17]

Wow... it seems so incredible. Did you do something to Murphy to make him mad?

 

[Pasodama]

Wish I could suggest a thermostat but I do believe we have the same thermostat/s in common. (Will be interesting to see which may be best &/or rather reliable, via suggestions offered, to, perhaps, rethink my set ups as well).
However, I just wanted to say that I am sorry to hear about what happened. Hope your Pythons remain well and that the one, that is "off", recovers.

 

[desertanimal]

Sorry to hear that. That stinks, big time. I wonder if the black rat was the first to go because he was the least massive, so heated up the fastest? If that's the case, it might have meant that your timing was really lucky, and that you got to them too late to keep a small snake from fatally overheating, but soon enough to keep your larger snakes from fatally overheating.

 

[tom e]

Jeez, that's terrible Jeff.. Sorry to hear.
Obviously you did more than most to try and prevent just such a thing from happening- 2 thermostats and all.
I have never had problems with my 2 Helix stats (heating seperate kinds of heat tape though, not a main and backup though you've got me thinking now.), but I don't know if that means they are great or I just haven't been using them long enough. I hope your python pulls through.

 

[Tom Tuttle]

Jeff, I get the Johnson controls thermostats from one of our vendors at work.
I wire them up myself to power strips. As for the Helix's I get them from fellow vendors at shows.

 

[Fizzlefry22]

Wow, Jeff, that really sucks. I have a feeling that whether you had 2 or 10 rheostats, they'd have all failed... Sounds like Mr.Murphy paid you a personal visit. :angry01:

 

[Piper]

Sorry to hear about your thermostat troubles >< I hope your Pythons end up ok.

I have 2 of the Herpstat ND from Spyder Robotics. It has an audible alarm if the heat sensor fails or is disconnected. It's loud enough to hear through a closed door & several rooms away - at the far end of the house. (I unplugged the heat sensor to test it)

from their website:
"Internal error detection shuts off heat if sensor fails or is disconnected."



Another model - Herpstat II

*Individually selectable High / Low temperature threshold alarms.
*700 Watt rating for each output (1400 watts total output)
*Each output is fused separately keeping an outage on one output from affecting the other.
*Internal temperature sensor monitors heat and controls internal fan. Also shuts down outputs if overheated for safety. Restarts automatically once cooled.
*Power Outage detection / tracking.
*High / Low temperature tracking helps monitor heating system and enclosure efficiency
*Device status is viewable online with emergency e-mail and vtext alerts (USB cable and software required). <---- nice feature!! This is on my wish list - future purchase...

There is a very long list of features, Spyder Robotics have the best proportional thermostats in my opinion. Great customer service too.