Do i REALLY need a thermostat?

[Onissarle]

Originally Posted by Morgoth

Stranger still though is why many shop owners seem to say 'thermostats aren't needed for heatmats' when people are actually asking them if they should buy one.

Clearly things aren't all as black and white and clear cut as some would like to make out regarding mats and stats. But I'll refrain from going too far back down that dead end road

That's also pretty simple when you think about it in context. If a shop is able to sell more starter kits without stats they aren't going to say that's the reason, they'll say they aren't needed at all to get the sale, it helps when they can claim the cheapest starter kit in the area even if it's cheaper because it's missing key items.

If someone then comes into the shop and asks if they need a thermostat, they can't turn around and say that actually stats are a beneficial thing because they can't be seen to contradict themselves, especially if it's someone they sold a kit to without one. They need to pick one litany and stick to it and unfortunately often they just choose the one that will ensure the most immediate animal sales and therefore make it likely that customer will keep coming back for food, lights, substrate, etc. I have a lot of respect for shops that would rather turn away sales than sell an animal to someone they think isn't prepared to take proper care of it.

[Keitarock]

I was sold a heatmat without a stat, obviously because they didnt want to break the £100 barrier. It wouldnt have mattered to me cos I'd still have picked one up.

Anyway I bought one online after having found that it is a necessity. So I have the heatmat on the underside of the tank, and around 2cm of substrate.. where should the probe sit? on the bottom of the tank under the substrate, or just on top of the sub?

[Alex88]

When i got my first snake the shop owner refused to sell me the snake untill i had a stat and heatmat that was in full working order, he found me a second hand one and tested it and got both stat and mat for £20, but either way GET one its vital and there sooo worth the money, i have 3 stats now and payed around £25 for the other 2.

[Chewie]

This would also be helpful in the lizard section!

[hillzi]

currently hunting for one now :s

[Danny_mcr]

Originally Posted by Alex88

When i got my first snake the shop owner refused to sell me the snake untill i had a stat and heatmat that was in full working order, he found me a second hand one and tested it and got both stat and mat for £20, but either way GET one its vital and there sooo worth the money, i have 3 stats now and payed around £25 for the other 2.

good to hear that m8 as not a lot of rep shops would do that. glad to see responsible traders out there

[Morgoth]

By the same token do you guys who keep humidity demanding reptiles always have humidistats on your humidity devices? Such as: Lucky Reptile Humidity Control 2 Humidity Thermostat £64.89 - Pet Zoo Online Reptile Shop & Exotic Pet Store

[Simone1989]

Well I'm a first time keeper of corn snakes and I have 3 babies...they're in a small tank with a heat mat with no thermostat...what temperature should I set the matt to and where should I put the thermometer? Many thanks Simone

[Ssthisto]

Well, without a thermostat you cannot set the temperature of the mat at all. It will get to the heat it gets to - and you may find that's significantly too hot for your corns. A thermometer will only tell you "Yup, it's too hot" - but it can't do anything about it. A thermostat will sense that it's getting too hot and turn it down so it doesn't get any hotter.

Without getting too tetchy, what you really need is two more tubs (baby corns are at the largest risk of cannibalism - it's a very small risk, but you don't really want to be the one in a thousand, do you?) one heat strip and one mat stat.

The thermometer goes on the floor of one enclosure right above the heat mat.

The thermostat probe also goes on the floor of the same enclosure, right above the heat mat. Then you twiddle the dial on the thermostat until you get the thermometer to read about 83-87 degrees consistently - that might be 83 on the thermostat, or it might be 88, or it might be 78 - sometimes you have to calibrate them to work with the exact mat you've got.

[honey-pie]

Originally Posted by Boccia-Boy

So do I need a thermostat - no I dont but my reptiles do.

Posted by Sharpstrain (Boccia Boys Dad - forgot to swith users)

well said bud