Thermostats, yes or no?

[RedFox]

I use thermostats with two enclosures. The majority of my animals I don't. I use heat cord with all my animals and so zig zag it to get the right temp. This gives a slight fluctuation in temps over the day.

I have a habistat pulse proportional thermostat to use with my incubator.

 

[Red-Ink]

I use thermostats... much easier to replicate temps from FNQ here in VIC with the help of thermostats.

 

[Jacknife]

I use thermostats, but only due to my location(west of Melbourne) and the fluctuation of ambient temps most of the year. I have my enclosures set up with correct wattages for my heat needs, and only use thermostats to control temp drops rather than temp rises...

 

[longqi]

Some really good points being made here

IMO the most important one was pointed out earlier
If your maximum wattage used cannot overheat your animals you have got it right

I have seen vivs that I would heat very nicely with 40watts running 250 watts
Until something goes wrong that may be ok
But if Murphy drops by major problems

Unless your viv is in direct sunlight although the outside temperature may fluctuate madly
your daily room temperature will probably only vary about 10C
If your wattage gives correct temps at normal maximum daily temperature
with a 10C ambient temp drop your temp inside your viv should only drop 6C max

This is well within normal limits for most Aus reptiles

 

[andynic07]

Some really good points being made here

IMO the most important one was pointed out earlier
If your maximum wattage used cannot overheat your animals you have got it right

I have seen vivs that I would heat very nicely with 40watts running 250 watts
Until something goes wrong that may be ok
But if Murphy drops by major problems

Unless your viv is in direct sunlight although the outside temperature may fluctuate madly
your daily room temperature will probably only vary about 10C
If your wattage gives correct temps at normal maximum daily temperature
with a 10C ambient temp drop your temp inside your viv should only drop 6C max

This is well within normal limits for most Aus reptiles

On that point mate I usually make sure my hot spot is higher than needed by a few degrees (up to 5) and the enclosure is larger than required for plenty of room for a good thermal gradient and only use thermostats for smaller (tub or intermediate enclosures) setups.



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[moosenoose]

I'm in the process of redesigning my snake room. So this will be interesting if people should show some set-ups? I've got thermos in a few enclosures but they rarely cut in. Some of my elapids only use the heat from the daytime lighting which is on a timer.

In the colder parts of the state I can understand why thermos are used. But that said, if you have a descent gradient in the enclosure, the snake will find its own comfort zone.

 

[BostonMatty86]

I use them cause I'm a tight butt and would rather use less electricity. Dimming thermostats are great and extend the life of your globes/CHE too. Get two wired in series and they will last years!
Perth also has large fluctuations in ambient temp. 7 degrees to 28 isn't uncommon. So using a heat source that can get the desired temp is just a basic. That said the thermostats I use are fail safe. They turn off if they fail. Most new thermostats are like that. I'm an electrical designer and fail safe is a typical design feature for most things these days.
Some of the old crusty members were around before electricity. So naturally they don't trust the automated control of it hahaha Step into 2014 heat panels and modern thermostats are a brilliant way to control thermal gradients.

could you list for me some brands/models of good thermostats. Thanks and best regards, Matt.

 

[Snowman]

For me there are only two brands. Habistat and microclimate.

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could you list for me some brands/models of good thermostats. Thanks and best regards, Matt.

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[BostonMatty86]

For me there are only two brands. Habistat and microclimate.

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Thanks very much. Very helpful. the read up ive now done on both these brands suggests they are quality.

Thanks again. Matthew