Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I think everything else is figure out for my cage, it will be 34.5 x 12 x 18 glass sides with heat pad and light. What do you recommend for a thermostat for this setup?

Thanks!

For the heat pad or light? One single-sensor thermostat can do both but yield crazy results.

You can make this easier like this:

Heat pad on a dimmer.

Lamp on a thermostat set to whatever is good for the species in question. Example, for a kingsnake, let the cool area of the cage stay below 75 if possible.

For the lamp, either an ON/OFF is fine or a phase-proportional is even better. Look in the classifieds for Ranco (on/off), Johnson (on/off), Helix (proportional), Herpstat (proportional), Big Apple (proportional).

Some suppliers include www.beanfarm.com and www.bigappleherp.com. Look in the classifieds under Heat supplies.
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Mark

So for the heat pad just find the proper dimmer setting for a good heat range and then leave it set?

Then thermostat to the light. So it sounds like the light will come on and off throughout the day to stay at your setting? So having a standard 24 hour day/night cycle isn't important?

Thanks.

Light cycle can be important, and that can be done with a fluorescent bulb in the room.

I assumed that the light in the cage was for heat. This light can be a red heat lamp or a ceramic element. The ceramic does not give off light, and the red light is not very visible to reptiles. A phase-proportional controller dims the light - it isn't flashing on/off all the time (well it is, just faster than your eye can see).

If the light is for light and not heat or UV, then use fluorescent and do not use a thermostat, but rather just a timer.

Regarding the dimmer question - think of it like this: you set the dimmer to about 3/4 power, so that the heat pad is pretty warm but not too hot. That is fine. Lets say the room is 70 deg. If the room heats up one day to 80 deg, then the same 75% power to the heat pad will result in a much warmer heat pad, so you may have to throttle back on the dimmer. Point is, the dimmer relies on YOU to make adjustments. There is no automatic sensing or anything.

To really be safe and make it easy, use a large cage so the reptile can escape the heat. Then the actual temperature of the heaters (as long as they are warm enough) becomes less critical.
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Mark

I'm starting to understand now, I didn't know a heat lamp didn't give off light, makes sense.

So looks like I will have a heat pad on dimmer, fluorescent light manual or timer for day cycle, and then a heat bulb on thermostat.

Cage will be 34" long, so will build it so heat range.

Thanks!

It's possible you won't need the heat lamp, if you have belly heat (UTH)... My king's cage has an excellent temperature range with just the belly heat and a fluorescent for light for the plants (suspended high enough above the cage so it doesn't burn the plants or create heat). My room temperature in that part of the house is usually 76 degrees, so he has a hotspot in his cage with the belly heat and a cool end near the water bowl.

A heatpad and a heat lamp might be overkill if you're just getting a king... unless you live in Maine. Might want to double-check that.

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Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden) (missing )
1.0 Florida Kingsnake possible mix (Eddie Gein)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)

>>A heatpad and a heat lamp might be overkill if you're just getting a king... unless you live in Maine. Might want to double-check that.
>>

Certainly can be true. With a thick substrate so kings can burrow, heat pads can become almost useless. Most keepers use a very thin layer, so a heat pad can work.

In nature, reptiles go underground to cool off. Using overhead heat and a substrate that supports burrowing, you will see that behavior. Snake comes up close to the surface to warm up, and then goes below to cool off. Also, the substrate holds a nice humidity underneath, so the snakes don't dry out as easily. Heat pads dry out the substrate from the bottom up; lights dry the air.

Also in nature, the Earth absorbs heat and gives it off just after sundown (in Spring/Summer anyway), kind of like a heat pad, but a heat pad near the surface.

Anyway, lately I've chosen overhead heat for even burrowing snakes, and I think the results validate the method. A much nicer gradient, and easier to control with a thermostat, since the thermostat probe sits in the cage where you can see it. The drawback is that overhead heat takes more wattage usually.

For very low air volume cages like shoeboxes with little ventilation, undercage heat actually does heat the air as well, so the effect is better.

Anyway, all this rambling is just to offer support for overhead heat for snakes. Not trying to change your mind, just showing how there is some reasoning behind the madness.
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Mark

Whats the difference between a proportional and a on/off?
Chris

A proportional thermostat will basically keep an even temperature by reducing the amount of electricity to the heating element. This will maintain an constant even temperature. An on/off one will turn the heating element on and off to maintain as needed to maintain the temp. (like the one for you home). On/off can have a slight change in temps between turning on and off. A good on/off can keep that variance between 1 and 2 degrees, which isn't too bad.

Personally I use a proportional for my incubator and on/off for my racks.
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"The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think. Oh by the way, which ones pink?"

Thanks!!!
Chris

A proportional is better for heat pads etc. because they give trickle current, just enough to keep it at target temperature, rather than full current - which can wear out the heat pad or heat tape.

I use an on/off for one rack and a proportional for the other. When the on/off goes on - it is literally seconds until the heat pad is hot to the touch. When it goes off, it becomes cool to the touch. The proportional - it is warm to the touch but you have to keep your hand on it to really notice it.
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