are thermostats necessary?

[Tassie97]

ok this is just out of curiosity okay so just say you have a stimsons python could you just get a globe that is the right watage to keep them at a consistent temperature or are there globes with thermostats built in so say they cut off at 40 degrees i have no idea with pythons but thought it would be an interesting think to learn about also i have read about people using party globes from bunnings does this work what is your thoughts

 

[scorps]

Short answer, Yes

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

you DEFINANTLY need a thermo stat the light globe on produces ehat and when it gets too hot thermostat will switch it off,no thermostat and the temp will rise and rise and cook your animal that can now not escape the heat

and no globes dont have thermostats and will not give constant temp

 

[AUSGECKO]

Unless you can guarantee that the room that your enclosure is in will not fluctuate in temperature thoughout the day/night and the different seasons you are best to use a thermostat.

 

[Tassie97]

ok just checking cause people where saying it was ok in other threads so just wanting to know others still put forward your feeling on this

 

[Tristan]

they are not 100% necessary, but you need to be able to guarantee that the enclosure stays with in the animals temp requirements hot and cold all year round. if an enclosure is set up right then with the right temp globe running at full power it will still only get to a particular temp.

how ever a thermostat is highly recommended

 

[Tassie97]

do all thermostats have the probes ? cause that sort of looks weird a big metal spiral into the tank

 

[Tristan]

a thermostat has to have a thermometer so it can measure the temp, so its either the prob or put the whole unit in, the probe can be manipulated to run along a vine or behind rocks or what ever to hide it, its only the end of the probe that need to be exposed in the area you want the max temp controlled.

 

[Tassie97]

yeah ok thank for clearing that up

 

[snakeluvver]

I have a heat mat and I don't have one. Do I need one?

 

[camspeed]

No, do snakes in the wild have thermostats? Theyre not going to die if the temperature doesn't sit at 31.73 degrees 24/7

 

[saximus]

They aren't in an enclosed space with a heater in the wild either. The risk of cooking them is the fear here, not the risk of them getting too cold

 

[Dannyboi]

They might do if the globe is 250 watts and the enclosure is small. I don't have a thermo I have 2 light fittings a UV bulb which I use on hot days and a Heat globe that I use with the UV on cold days. I know that the UV bulb brings the temps up by 2-3 degrees in my enclosure and I know the temp forecast of each day and I know what temp my room will be If I know it will be too hot then I simply leave it all off.

 

[FAY]

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

 

[Tsubakai]

If you know what you are doing and set the enclosure up properly then you can do without a thermostat. However it is a good backup safety measure just as long as you don't rely on it always working - they can and do fail and potentially kill your reptile if your heat source is excessively overpowered.

 

[Guest]

I dont use thermos
i have large enclosures that have a hot spot under the globe and the rest sits at around room temp
without any of the heaters on the room temp inside the herp room this time of year is up around 36 at times which is alot higher than what i would have my thermo set at anyway

 

[Tristan]

No, do snakes in the wild have thermostats? Theyre not going to die if the temperature doesn't sit at 31.73 degrees 24/7

the issue is not so much the temp going slightly over, but say you have a strong bulb and it get up to 50+ and your snake is only used to 30ish even your cool end is going to be 40ish so yes your snake WILL have a problem if left like that for a day etc.

the biggest issue i see how ever is a snake sitting over the heat mat are, the heat mat fails starts running hotter than it should, the area slowly increases in temperature, and the snake sitting on the heat spot will not feel the slow heat increase until its too late and has a nasty burn.

then your up for a lot of treatments and vet bills.

i would always use a thermostat on a heatmat/cord, i have seen way to many stories of these devices failing and burning hotter than they should to the point of almost starting fires etc

 

[Kurama]

Here are some links for you.

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/australian-snakes-37/trueblues-anti-thermostat-stand-59396/

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-discussion-42/enclosures-thermostats-88666/

cheers.

 

[Tassie97]

So are you for or against it ?

 

[hugsta]

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.