Do i REALLY need a thermostat?

[Morgoth]

I am as baffled by your responses as you are by mine. To me a heatmat has always been a useful item for providing 'background' heat, especially at night, and with newspaper it has never been nearly hot enough to burn my animals.
I have performed tests that confirm this.

The only heating items I've had hot enough to burn are lightbulbs, which are either out of range of the lizards I've had in the past, or have guards on them for snakes.

I guess you guys really need to consider that YOUR way is not the ONLY way.

[Lynne]

mat has been on for like two minutes and its at 103. pmsl the dog is chasing the infra red dot!!!!

106. i just edited so i didnt use another post

[sparkle]

Originally Posted by Morgoth

I am as baffled by your responses as you are by mine. To me a heatmat has always been a useful item for providing 'background' heat, especially at night, and with newspaper it has never been nearly hot enough to burn my animals.
I have performed tests that confirm this.

The only heating items I've had hot enough to burn are lightbulbs, which are either out of range of the lizards I've had in the past, or have guards on them for snakes.

I guess you guys really need to consider that YOUR way is not the ONLY way.

dont be baffled..

think..

a heat mat without a stat wont ALWAYS work to the temp required..
I use a pulse stat. which pulses a message to the mat EVERY second what temp i want it to read on the digital themometre...

so for example i set it to 90.. the stat keeps it at that all the time.. irrespecitve of whether its warm or cold outside..
now.. without a heat mat ive seen mats which as u say dont go super hot.. and ive also seen ones going WAY WAY too hot..
your hand is a poor tool to measure temps.. it HAS to be a working digital themometre or nothing at all.. the crappy cheap round themometres usually fail miserably..


someone on here did an excellent test to prove the issues there CAN be with heat mats going way above desired temps and reps wont always move.. sometimes they cook and end up really ill with neuro damage or worse dead..

as i said why RISK it.. you are taking a risk and if ure happy one day with one of your mats shooting temps through the roof and cooking your animal to death by all means carry on.. it MAY happen .. it MAY not...

I have a saying on this forum for people who dont want to listen to the SAFE ways of doing things..

theres never a problem till it happens

( often people kick themsleves after thinking because nothings happened to them for years nothing will then.. BINGO.. the one thing they said wouldnt , does)

it really is a case of how important your animals are to u whether u wish to play safe.. or play unsafe

[sparkle]

Originally Posted by Morgoth

I am as baffled by your responses as you are by mine. To me a heatmat has always been a useful item for providing 'background' heat, especially at night, and with newspaper it has never been nearly hot enough to burn my animals.
I have performed tests that confirm this.

The only heating items I've had hot enough to burn are lightbulbs, which are either out of range of the lizards I've had in the past, or have guards on them for snakes.

I guess you guys really need to consider that YOUR way is not the ONLY way.

do you have your spot bulbs on dimmer stats>>

if not then if the temps in the room get hot it wil change the temps of the inner vivarium hence giving the lizard a hot spot that could be too hot or cold dependant on the temps in the room...

[Lynne]

mat reached 121% and then i turned it off. no black magic either. i can do it later with pictures if you want. i just couldnt hold the gun and point and shoot the camera at same time!!!

[Morgoth]

Originally Posted by sparkle

dont be baffled..

think..

a heat mat without a stat wont ALWAYS work to the temp required..
I use a pulse stat. which pulses a message to the mat EVERY second what temp i want it to read on the digital themometre...

so for example i set it to 90.. the stat keeps it at that all the time.. irrespecitve of whether its warm or cold outside..
now.. without a heat mat ive seen mats which as u say dont go super hot.. and ive also seen ones going WAY WAY too hot..
your hand is a poor tool to measure temps.. it HAS to be a working digital themometre or nothing at all.. the crappy cheap round themometres usually fail miserably..


someone on here did an excellent test to prove the issues there CAN be with heat mats going way above desired temps and reps wont always move.. sometimes they cook and end up really ill with neuro damage or worse dead..

as i said why RISK it.. you are taking a risk and if ure happy one day with one of your mats shooting temps through the roof and cooking your animal to death by all means carry on.. it MAY happen .. it MAY not...

I have a saying on this forum for people who dont want to listen to the SAFE ways of doing things..

theres never a problem till it happens

( often people kick themsleves after thinking because nothings happened to them for years nothing will then.. BINGO.. the one thing they said wouldnt , does)

it really is a case of how important your animals are to u whether u wish to play safe.. or play unsafe

As I say, this might have given me cause for concern maybe a year into the hobby, or maybe two. But I think after ten years I start relying a bit more on my own experiences than others. Especially given that our both experiences of heatmats are soooo different.

All I know is, using my pair of 8' Boas as an example, is that they have been with heatmats without stats for nigh on six years, have virtually never refused food, have bred once (usually a sign of good conditions with most animals) and have never received burns on the belly from a heatmat. Both of the boas were more or less rescued animals (as are my Bosc Monitor and Green Iguana), the one has no bruns on its body at all, the other has one or two small burns, long since healed from its former life.

PS: As stated I use a hand held thermometer with a probe, its pretty damn accurate.

[Meko]

Originally Posted by Morgoth

I am as baffled by your responses as you are by mine. To me a heatmat has always been a useful item for providing 'background' heat, especially at night, and with newspaper it has never been nearly hot enough to burn my animals.
I have performed tests that confirm this.

The only heating items I've had hot enough to burn are lightbulbs, which are either out of range of the lizards I've had in the past, or have guards on them for snakes.

I guess you guys really need to consider that YOUR way is not the ONLY way.

again.. newspaper! what is it with this magic newspaper that a couple of sheets of it seems to act as a heat deflector.
With the constant mention of newspaper i'm starting to think you don't own any animals but work for a media company and trying to increase newspaper sales.

[Meko]

Originally Posted by Lynne

mat reached 121% and then i turned it off. no black magic either. i can do it later with pictures if you want. i just couldnt hold the gun and point and shoot the camera at same time!!!

fancy a challenge to prove us all on what can happen??

[Morgoth]

Nope, my reptiles are kept in my garage, which is fairly good at keeping a stable temperature, as it doesn't get hot in the summer, and stays quite warm in the winter (except in this very cold weather we've been having recently in which additional heating has been required for the garage, as well as the viv heating).

I have measured and recorded all my temperatures and believe them to be perfectly within a suitable temperature gradient.

[Morgoth]

Originally Posted by Meko

again.. newspaper! what is it with this magic newspaper that a couple of sheets of it seems to act as a heat deflector.
With the constant mention of newspaper i'm starting to think you don't own any animals but work for a media company and trying to increase newspaper sales.

I do, I work for the Daily Mail! Surprise!