Themostat / Environmental control

hellosugaree · 04-18-12, 06:41 AM

I am just curious for those of you that have between 3-10 snakes in display enclosures (not tiny tubs/racks), how do you keep all the temps regulated? I have a small carpet python, and I plan on getting at least 1 to 50 million more

(no, really, only a few more). Right now he is in a glass aquarium, but eventually I will get him into a plastic display type cage (something like AP).

He is in an upstairs room of my house. I try to keep the house at constant temp, but since the thermostat sensor/controller for the house is downstairs, the upstairs doesn't quite stay at a constant temp. On a couple of days, the temps got pretty high in the tank. I had to get a rheostat to turn down the lamp and completely unplug the UTH. On colder days, I have to use both a lamp and UTH unregulated to keep the temps up. Needless to say, I need a thermostat, because I don't want to have to constantly move lamps up and down and on and off 3 times a day. What kind of thermostat do you recommend for a small number of enclosures. I would prefer something that can be used for up to 4 enclosures and can have a programmed night temperature separate from daytime temps. Also, if you are running multiple enclosures off a single thermostat, how do you ensure they all get heated evenly? If you have a single probe, then you can only put it in one enclosure. I guess if you use the same heat setup in all enclosures then they should be pretty close to each other in temps, but if a heater in the enclosure with the probe fails, the thermostat will read cold and pump out max heat to the other tank. Are there thermostats with independent probes and controls for multiple cages, or do I have to buy a separate one for each cage?

Anyway, just wondering what people use to manage their small to medium collections. I'm keeping carpet pythons and I would like to be able to see them, so sterilite tub rack systems won't really apply. Either way I'd love to hear how you manage multiple animals with proper temps and not too much worry.

Lankyrob · 04-18-12, 08:45 AM

I have 7 individual display vivs and have a thermostat for everyone of them.

hellosugaree · 04-18-12, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

I have 7 individual display vivs and have a thermostat for everyone of them.

What thermostat do you use?

USMCgunner11 · 04-18-12, 08:55 AM

I use these...
Vivarium Electronics VE-300 - Reptile Basics Inc

The have different models but this one allows for a programable "night drop" and has alarms that will sound if it gets too hot, too cold or if the probe fails. They have another model that is a dual zone thermo stat, meaning two independant probes, with two independant settings so you can use that for multiple heat sources in one tank, or two single heat sources in two tanks technically.

It says that they're not recommended for use with incandescant light bulbs, but there is a setting built in it so that it can be used as a simple "on/off" thermostat. I use them and love them.

MoreliAddict · 04-18-12, 09:18 AM

I only have a couple snakes but I use a thermostat hooked to a probe per enclosure. I use a temp gun to double check hot and cold sides so I have a really good idea of how high to set the temp. (ideally, you should be setting the temp to as high as the hot side should go, and locate the probe in the hot side.

shaunyboy · 04-18-12, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

I have 7 individual display vivs and have a thermostat for everyone of them.

^^^^^
i agree with Rob

i have melamine display vivariums into double figures,ALL OF THEM HAVE THEIR OWN THERMOSTAT

imo,if you are using 1 thermostat,to control 2 or more tanks,then it is very dangerous for the snakes

you only get 1 probe with each stat...!!

should the heat source fail in the tank " with " the probe.....

it will cook the snake in the other tanks,that are also run by the same stat

cheers shaun

USMCgunner11 · 04-18-12, 09:41 AM

Absolutely! If you're looking for a way to control the temps but want to save money by having one thermostat control multiple tanks, it must have a zone feature like I mentioned. Each probe, even though it plugs into the same unit, works independantly of the others and you can program it to accomodate different temp ranges. Anything less will be too dangerous.

hellosugaree · 04-18-12, 10:19 AM

I guess I'll have to get one of these

Spyder Robotics

Not only does it control 4 things independently, it looks cool too

. It's a bit pricey but not really compared to buying 4 separate thermostats. The only thing is all enclosures have to be close to each other whereas with 4 thermostats you can control things in different rooms so it allows a bit more flexibility.

Has anybody used one of these (any of their models)? Are they reliable?

Trollbie · 04-18-12, 10:22 AM

I only have 2 snakes, but I have a thermo for each. I use HydroFarm

Amazon.com: hydrofarm thermostat

It's cheap but I think it works great.

hellosugaree · 04-18-12, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollbie

I only have 2 snakes, but I have a thermo for each. I use HydroFarm

Amazon.com: hydrofarm thermostat

It's cheap but I think it works great.

How long have your had them?

Trollbie · 04-18-12, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellosugaree

How long have your had them?

A month. But they were recommended to me by more experienced members from here who I'm pretty have been using them much longer. I think millertime89 is one of them.

Lankyrob · 04-18-12, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellosugaree

What thermostat do you use?

Habistat Pulse Proportional Thermostats - not the cheapest but reliable