Click clack set up: heat mat, thermostat and thermometer help

[Renenet]

Hi,

I spent some of my weekend making up a click clack, following the instructions posted somewhere on this forum. Now I'm researching heat mats, thermostats and thermometers, and making myself rather confused. I need some help to make a comfortable, safe home for my Stimsons python-to-be.

By way of background, I have a 7L click clack and don't have the cash to buy top of the range. I'm completely new to reptile-keeping so please excuse any dopey questions.

I'm looking at getting a 7-watt heat mat, maybe the black Reptapets. Is 7 watts going to provide enough heating? There's a version of this heat mat with an in-built probe temperature control. Has anyone got this one? Does it work well? Can the control reliably replace a thermostat?

Thermostats are a bit more confusing and I haven't been able to narrow it down. There's a lot of fancy ones out there that are more expensive than the heat mat. Do I need a fancy one or would a simple analog thermostat suffice?

I have the same question when it comes to thermometers. Also, how many do I need? I read somewhere that it's good to have one at each end of the enclosure to monitor the gradient. I'm not sure if that applies to a click clack, however.

Any responses/product recommendations would be most welcome. Thanks!

 

[JAS101]

the reptapets heat mat with built in thermostat [ heat control] works great , i havnt had any issues with my 7 of them .
if the click clack is flat at the bottom , then there is no reason why the 7 watt one shouldnt work . i use the 12watt and 20watt ones .

infact when i build my enclosures im going to use the reptapet matts and build a tiled heat pad for them

 

[gavgav]

a 7watt one will work perfect
for my stimson and my jungle im using a 7ltr container with a 7watt heat matt and my hot end temps around 30-31 and my cool end is around 24-26

ive got one of the urs temp guns to check my temps

as for a thermostat just get a basic one to start off
check out the herpshop
im using the one there selling for $85 its a digital one and it works fine
Probe Thermostat Model THATO40Eb

 

[chase77]

i got the reptapet heatmat with the temp control. works a treat. set at desired temp, check with thermometer till you got it right.

i dont use thermostats so i cant comment.

dual temp probes are preferable as it saves having to move the single one to check. when you can afford it a temp gun.

chase.

 

[rockstar_jones]

The 7 watt reptapet mat's are great. Hell I'm even using one of the 7 watters to make do while waiting for light fittings for my BHP's enclosure (it is summer here however)

Michael

 

[Renenet]

Thanks, everyone. That's all been a great help!

 

[Renenet]

Ended up getting the 7-watt Reptapet mat with in-built control, for a very nice price at the Expo on Saturday. It seems to be working very well. I also picked up a dual probe thermometer from Reptile 1, I think it was, again for a nice price. It's very rare that I end up spending less than I expected so I'm very happy!