Do i REALLY need a thermostat?

[Stoner_Pez]

Thats shocking lol. And if you dont use a thermostat then you shouldnt be keeping animals IMO. It's not as if theyre REALLY expensive these days is it lol.

Im shocked at the temperature that was at. I recently went to florida and alot of the tiny geckos and stuff sit in the shade alot of the time, i thought it was well weird seeing as they need the sun and heat, then i felt the pavement and it was fucking hot. Even the 7 foot alligators in our back lake stayed in the shaded areas of the lake.

Tottally pointless paragraph but oh well.

[moonlightspark]

id like to know where people are getting these hot mats from then because if anything they dont heat up enough rather than too much.and i check the temps regularly and have max min thermometers so id know if they did ever get too high.. which has never happened.

[Ssthisto]

Originally Posted by moonlightspark

id like to know where people are getting these hot mats from then because if anything they dont heat up enough rather than too much.and i check the temps regularly and have max min thermometers so id know if they did ever get too high.. which has never happened.

Where are your thermometers located?

Unless they're RIGHT on the floor directly over the mat (no substrate in the way, no airspace, just thermometer as close to touching the mat as your snake is)... you're not measuring the temperature your reptile's being exposed to.

[moonlightspark]

ill check the heat directly on the surface and ill feel really stupid is the temps are too high especially as i see myself as fairly experienced lol . ill let you folks know how i get on.

[moonlightspark]

ok, i left a thermometer( a decent digital one) directly on the first mat... this is my kingsnakes mat(mat.1). After maybe 15 mins it seems to have stopped at 35 degrees celsius- yes that is too hot. At the moment im waiting on the other mat for my corn snake(mat.2) heating up but i can feel this one is warmer.
my corns mat was reading 37 and possibly climbing so i know its def too warm, almost 10 degrees higher than the temperature i was reading before.

mat 1. Euro-Rep Habistat vivarium heat mat 17x11 inch 20 w - reached 35 degrees C approx

mat 2. Rainbow Rock Company Supermat 12x12 12w (with built in thermostat - ive never really understood this claim) - reached 37celsius approx

I hate to admit being wrong but i am serious when it comes to my reptiles , thanks for your sound advice Ssthisto. And although i didnt get any abuse for my wrong doings id like to say i wouldnt have listened or acted if i was just bombarded with ooh you are an idiot who doesnt know a thing about reptiles blah blah because, i do. It seems we are not being informed about the output of the heat mats and no-one at pet stores etc has ever recommended using a stat for mats. anyway, im joining the cause and wil get a couple of stats.

[alinoee]

i know that i will be eaten alive but i have to say this. this experiment is rather useless. i do not argue necessity of thermostats! i'm only saying this to help people realize that different thermometers are made to measure temps in different environments. using 'air' thermometer will not reflect accurate surface temperature.
those readings indicate that this heat matte would cause third degree burn to adult human skin within approx 1 second. i assume that heat matte was not faulty.
Estimated Times/Temperatures Causing a Full Thickness (third degree) Burn in Children/Adults
this information might not be accurate but most of the sites i check shows pretty much same maybe someone else will find some different stats but 70 deg C is enough to boil the egg. i thought it might be worth mentioning.

[tigger79]

Glad to see even some experienced people getting it wrong, as they say we all learn something new every day,

this isnt a told you so, just pointing out that even those who have been keeping for many year who are set in their ways, and think they know best can be wrong, it could be they were told to do it that way years ago and have never changed their ways.

[Ssthisto]

Originally Posted by alinoee

using 'air' thermometer will not reflect accurate surface temperature.

The TN1 infrared thermometer is designed to measure spot surface temperatures. I can use it to take the temperature of the inside of my freezer, the inside of my mouth or the basking spot of my monitor's vivarium and get accurate surface temperatures as long as I'm within the correct distance for measurement.

I wouldn't have been surprised, on the heat mat I measured, if you could cook an egg on it, albeit slowly and messily.

However, human skin doesn't burn that fast - I have been to a spa with saunas ranging from:

"Japanese" sauna 45 degrees celsius
"Tyrolean" sauna 80-100 degrees celsius

In neither of these did I sustain ANY level of skin burning, even when sitting/lying on the wooden/ceramic benches (which are NOT cooled).

[alinoee]

Originally Posted by tigger79

Glad to see even some experienced people getting it wrong, as they say we all learn something new every day,

this isnt a told you so, just pointing out that even those who have been keeping for many year who are set in their ways, and think they know best can be wrong, it could be they were told to do it that way years ago and have never changed their ways.

i don't think about it as wright or wrong. you can walk into 80C sauna and not get burn. temp is relative but i don't think these measurements were taken correctly.

[alinoee]

Originally Posted by Ssthisto

1
"Tyrolean" sauna 80-100 degrees celsius

that's really my point.
try to put your hand to 80 deg water or hold nail warm up to 100 deg.