I have not read this thread through, reason being that it most likely gets argumentative, with various points both for and against using stats with mats.
I did want to say though, that the question initially asked could be asked in a different way, that being;

'Would you risk not using a thermostat control device with your heatmats, given the evidence showing that it can cause a lot of damage without one?'

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I cant be arsed anymore......in my eyes it is so black and white
paul

no hes saying theres a sticky called "do i really need a thermastat" and there was the same argument im guessing on that one and hes saying that he thought it was settled in that one but it obviously wasnt if people feel they need to make another thread on it to say the same things

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No he means he's read it before. Dont always assume the worst mate.

I have a glass terrarium, so i wouldnt know about wooden vivs and heat matt positions.

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I used to use a heatmat statted inside a viv and it kept a constant 88 - 90F,
Out of curiosity (without an animal in the viv) I plugged the mat straight to the socket and the variation day to day in the temps is unreal!
Some days it would show a steady 88F all day long but then on otheres it would reach 137F, now I wouldn't fancy any of my pets sitting on top of that!
Why take the chance?? Stat it FTW!

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My pets Royal Python - Monty 0.1.0Albino Burmese Python - Snowy 0.1.0Boxer - Molly 0.1.0

end of

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My Boas1.0.0 BRB CB07:-Malcolm 0.1.0 BCI CB08:-Sheila

in my opinion i dont realy care if it needs to be on a stat or not but with a stat you know its not gonna over heat etc and a stat wont cause problems

kat
xxx

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To put it nicely and be abbrupt, if you don't dish out £20-£30 to make sure your snake has no chance of being cooked then don't keep snakes, there obviously not for you

bought some mats from the pet shop exoterra ones
heat didnt even reach 86 degrees :/
had them on a mat stat so dunno what that was all about

Wouldnt risk putting a mat under without however as the ultratherms definitely DO go over 100, tested a couple just in case
without snake of course

The Mat stat is a simple, economic thermostat, designed to be used with heat mats to a maximum of 100 watts.
Although heat mats can be used without thermostats, the cage temperature can fluctuate with the ambient temperature. Too hot outside and there is the likelihood of the vivarium overheating. With minimal additional cost it can be assured that overheating will not occur in hot weather.


Taken from this site: mattstat

also more info here

and here

but of course all these people (including manufacturers) are wrong according to people on here.

As ive said...it depends on the situation & specie being kept &..it depends on the amount of ventilation/size of enclosure & wattage of the matt....hence why some of mine get turned off or put on timers in hot weather.....if you look at manufacturers instructions they all tell you that NO animal can burn its self when the matt is used correctly even without a stat !!.
Im sure you can find other sites that say you must have a stat...as ive said some people do things differently to others & what works for 1 person doesnt always work for someone else.
depends on how much experince you have i guess....hence why some swear by using them!
And yes i do use stats on some things....its depends on the above things ive already said.

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What do you call an animal protection racket that spends £25million per year on advertisement ?


The....R.S.P.C.A