Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can I use a Rheostat to maintain the desired temp in the enclosure or do I have to use a thermostat? I don't know what the difference is between the two. It sounds like they are pretty much the same thing except the rheostat is less expensive. Can anyone help me out with this? I have everything set up for a baby GTP (the rubbermaid tub enclosure from Greg Maxwell's site)and that's the last thing I need. Thanks a million.

I've found the cheaper rheostats can allow as much as 5 degrees of variation from high to low and for me, that's just too much. For the cornsnakes I don't worry, but I want better control for the chondros.
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1.0~amel corn~C.S.
1.3~Aztec Okeetee corns~Coatl,Maya,Acatl,Tepin
0.1.1~Green tree python~Tempest, Whisper
0.2~Rhodesian Ridgebacks~Akilah, Ona
0.1~Old black Lab~ Callie
1.0~Black fat cat~Topper
3.0~Horses~Zaarah,Galliano,Achilles.....
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A Rheostat is nothing more than a dimmer switch which regulates the voltage going to the heating device. A Thermostat regulates temps by measuring the temps of the enclosure through a probe and turning the heating device on or off in order to maintain the set temp. Proportional thermostats regulate the temps more precisely but I am not going to bore you with how this is done. If you are still set on getting a baby gtp, I suggest buying a proportional thermostat but there are quality non-proportionals out there. I suggest checking out www.mgreptiles.com for more information on thermostats. It is also not a bad site to purchase from. Stay away from the cheap ESU thermostats or others like it. This is probably going to be the most expensive part of a chondro setup besides the chondro itself.

Bart