as for my exp - they might help a lot but u still have to check temps by yourself.

i prefer to use a house hold dimer 2 lamps an get temp right i will then put one lamp on a stat so if the stat fails or room temp rises one lamp will go off but will always have one lamp on although at lower power will still give my snake some where to get warm in the event of a failure

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2.3.beardies (dracko, missy, rex, betty and stumpy)
16(eggs)
0.1 African Grey (Rosie)
1.0 Leo (spot)
1.0 yellow bellied turtle (fred)
1.0 carpet python (max)
1.1 boa (Stella,bud)
1.0 rat snake (reggie)
1.0.1 Royals (carli and foster)
2.1 newts 2x fire bellied 1x paddle tail
1.0 rat (sonic) getting old now nearly 3
0.2 rough collie (tia and shai)
2.0 children lol kian and kyle

Analogue thermometers are REALLY innaccurate, especially for heat mats, as they only heat the substrate and the area around it, not the air. Get a digital thermometer with a probe from Maplins or something like that.

Also, remember that just because you set a thermostat to 70F, doesn't mean it'll achieve that (even when you measure using digital). Their calibration can be way out, and you have to fiddle to get it right, especially with mat stats. Fixing the probe on top of the centre of the heat mat can reduce fluctuation and make calibration more accurate.

All the best

David

I agree with the above - get yourself a digi thermometer with a probe asap.
Once the thermometer probe is placed on the mat you can then adjust the dial on the thermostat until you get the right temps.

I've never EVER had an accurate thermostat - and never rely on just setting the stat itself. They usually need to be adjusted to be quite a lot higher before they reach adequate temps for the snakes, but you can't do this unless you have a good digi thermometer to monitor the temps with.

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1.1 Guyanan Red Tail Boas (BCC)
1.0 Amel Corn Snake