are thermostats necessary?

[hornet]

I have seen too many burns on snakes. I would ALWAYS use one.

I dont see how a thermostat will prevent burns. If you be sensible with the wattage when using heat matts and cords and use cages on globes there will be pretty much no risk of burns without a thermostat

IMO thermostats are rubbish. They are a complete waste of money and provide a false sense of security. I have been keeping reps since i was 10 or 11 and i have never used a thermostat apart from for my incubator. I use low wattage heating so that even on full bore it doesnt get overly hot. If you use an adequately sized enclosure then there is no need for a thermostat, they can regulate their own temp by moving to the cool end. As for those days when the room temp hits the high 30's early 40's whats a thermostat going to do? It wont reduce the cool end temp what so ever. Snakes will actively move to regulate their body temp so if the hot end gets a little too hot for their liking on a warm day they will migrate towards the cool end, they wont just sit on the hot spot and cook like people seem to think they will. Personally i have seen alot more problems (major burns or even death) from a failing thermostat then from one not being used.

 

[Tassie97]

ok so do you need a thermostat on a heat mat and would u use a bulb or heat mat for a stimsons python?

 

[Hooglabah]

You don't need one but it is safer and much less hassle to have one,
If you are new to Herps then I would say yes you need one untill you have the expierance.

If your trying to save money by not getting one then perhaps you shouldn't get a snake.

I've made mistakes by not haveing one and it almost cost me my beloved black head, spend the money and get a good one, saves alot of heart ache later

 

[Vixen]

The only time I use one is on racks that involve high wattage heat cords.

With bulbs I use an appropriate wattage for the enclosure size / time of year and it usually sits very well in range at all times, If it goes a bit high the animals simply move away. If you use the right size bulb it will never get so hot as to cook the enclosure anyway. (This is speaking for normal incandescent bulbs, and with someone usually home at all times. So in the case of a heatwave the lights would be turned off anyway)

 

[Tassie97]

yep in this thread i was just making sure i wasnt wasting money on something i dont need what is a good one to use? i have a reptaprobe one in with lizards is this good enough sorta think it not very accurate and sort of cheep if you know what i mean what is a good one but wont break the bank?

 

[hornet]

but it is safer and much less hassle to have one

In my experience and from what i have read about thermo's failing its probably safer not to use one

 

[-Peter]

You can get away without using one, but on that stinking hot day, like the 40+deg C we have had in Sydney over the last few days and you go to work and forget to turn off your heat light and come home to a cooked a snake, don't come on here and complain about how all these ppl said don't use one. There are a lot of things that come into play when you don't use a thermostat, the long and short of it is if you want to take a chance with your animal, then don't use one, want to be safe rather than loose your animal, then use a thermostat. Simple.

This is basically what I was going to say,
and yeah, they may fail but if they do you are going to be checking on them regularly anyway. I still turn off all the heat during periods like now.

 

[firedream]

The only people i know who don't use one are very experienced and have their enclosures setup for right wattage etc. I use one on all enclosures for peace of mind but i check all the time the temps to make sure everything is working. I have slowly as globes blow started reducing wattage size so if a thermostat buggers up it won't have an ill effect on snake. i would however prefer to have no thermostat and right wattage globes turning them off when they are not needed but i am quite forgetful when it comes to turning things off and on. so one step at a time. the people i know who don't use thermostats just use globs for basking from bunnings not reptile globes.

 

[J-A-X]

IF it is set up properly then no thermo setups are fine. I wouldn't do it in anything smaller than a 4ft(w) x 2ft(h) tank if you didn't know what you were doing.
I dont run thermos, but then again i dont have any small tanks either. If you aren't confident then buy a decent thermostat, and keep the wattage suitable for the size of the tank. (Dont run a 150w in a small tank, IF the thermostat fails you have one chargrilled snake instead of an uncomfortably warm one)

 

[crikey]

i only use my thermostaats in winter or cold days as where i live the temps are about 28-36 degrees in summer and winter abou 5-25 degrees so i just turn all heat of on hot days except the uv lamp for the lizards but its always good to have a thermostat.

 

[Tassie97]

umm so what type are your thermostats ??

 

[firedream]

i use a habistat 600watt dimming thermostat. i buy them from herp shop.

 

[elapid@]

I use thermostats. though at the moment its so hot I have turned all power off so there is no given heat and I put ice in there water bowls so they can cool down if necessary.... I have seen thermostats become faulty over time so I always use safety cut of switch and have a thermometer inside of the enclosure so I can see temps.... don't just rely on the thermostat.....this time of the year you need to keep regular checks on your reptiles.....

 

[firedream]

yeah i have thermometers in all enclosures and regularly check them. I have had a microclimate break but you could here it clicking like it was going on/off (it was a on/off thermostat) but it would not turn off. luckily i could hear that it had a problem. but thermometers are a great idea so you can monitor temps.

 

[Dipcdame]

Some say yes, some say no, it's a matter of personal thoughts on the subject. Having said this, I have a large enclosure with no thermostat, where my MD's can decide for themselves if they are too hot or too cold and move around the enclosure for themselves.
Smaller enclosures with less room to move about and get away from heat are fitted with thermostats.

so, as I said, personal choice.

 

[camspeed]

How hard is it to use the right wattage globe/mat for what you need? You don't need years of experience with herps to be able to buy a few different wattage globes and be able to read a thermometer. Its not rocket science.

On hot days, turn them off. I have mine set on a timer so that they aren't on all day either. Summer up here most days I don't have them on at all unless its raining (which is most of the time anyway though).

People say if you can't afford all the gear (ie. thermostats), then maybe you shouldn't own a snake. How about, if you can't remember to look after your animal and turn the heat off on 40 degree days then maybe you shouldn't own a snake. Do you forget to feed your dog or cat? Whats the difference really?

 

[Squinty]

I have all my womas, even hatchies, in tubs with no thermostats. Never had an issue.

 

[Hooglabah]

It's not about being unable to afford the gear it's about cutting corners.
That said people male mistakes allege time, do you watch the weather channel every night to check what temp it is tommorrow? If not how do you know what the temp will be?
Moreover if you live somewhere like Melbourne where it can go from 40 to 22 over night trying to regulate temps is a bit hard.

Then also factor in somthing like a dimming thermostat will not only increase bulb life but save on your power bill why wouldn't you.

And that's the main point why wouldnt you use one?
What good reason is there not to?

 

[Dannyboi]

So your not a believer in the internet being used to check the forecasts?

 

[hornet]

And that's the main point why wouldnt you use one?
What good reason is there not to?

IMO its safer not to use them. As i said i have seen many more instances of animals being injured or killed by a failed thermo, even property damage from fires then i have ever seen from not using thermo's. Actually i'm yet to hear a single instance of a properly setup enclosure without a thermostat causing any harm at all.