Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I haven't read too much on this forum about Rheostats and Thermatstats. I wonder if having the heating system hooked up to something of this nature would regulate things a bit better. I am also thinking of a few months down the line, after my imitators and Tincs are all settled in and I feel able to leave for a few days that having one would ease my mind. Can anyone comment on what you have used, what you like/dislike, recommend a couple of brands. The application is for a 29 gal bow front tinc environment with waterfall, and the other is a 18-25 Gal Hex Imitator tank with misting and fogging. thank you.

Well, if you have the money, a thermostat is the only way to go. This time of year where we live Im suprised you even have a heating source on! I was sticking to my car seat this afternoon! A rheostat is just a fancy name for a dimmer switch. You adjust the voltage that goes into the heat source. Very cheap at any hardware store; just get one of those rotary wall dimmer switches. However, Id only go to this much trouble if you think you need to. Does the temp get to high in their tank? If so, wire in a dimmer and do a guess and check opperation to see what setting keeps it the right temp. The great thing about a thermostat is it does all the adjusting for you. Set the temp you want on the dial, plug in your heat source/s and forget it. When the temp drops, it will kick on the heat source, and once the temp is right again, off it goes. Anyway, im rambling so Ill shut up. Talk to you later.
-David Taylor

Hi David; Tried looking for you at the Herp show at Pomona-no luck! Thanks for answering! You sure know your stuff! No, I don't have a heating source on now, but I'm planning for the winter months should I be gone a couple of nights or something. I just want to be well prepared ahead of time cause I'm soooooo unhandy. All the stuff you said about the Rheostat went over my head. I think all I can handle is buying thermastat and plugging in-will that do the trick in self-regualation so I won't worry if I have to be gone? Thanks David! And Frog Day was a blast!

Yeah, thats the whole idea of a thermostat; that you can leave it unattended and it will regulate the temps for you. Perfect for what you want it for. Dont worry about the rhesostat, you dont need one if you have a thermostat, and IMO, they arent even worth the trouble. Where was frog day? Ive never been to one and would love to check it out! How often do they have them?
-David Taylor

Oh David, Frog day was in San Jose. And it was blast! Smaller then I expected. Approx. 22 Venders in all. 4 totally dedicated to arrow's, and 1 more with mixture of other types of Frogs as well. 3 were Gecko tables-why they were at Frog Day I'll never know. One table by Phil Faulisi had the neatest Carnivorous plants. He is one of the leading experts and has the record for cultivating the world's largest Butterwort in the wild and in the greenhouse. He gave me a lot of help in understanding what is safe with PDFs and what I want to grow outdoors. Other tables with plants, one was Black jungle. One art table, one T-shirt booth. A couple of pet shops, and Ed's Flymeat. I heard 3 talks. One was a really cool talk given by Black Jungle on naturalist Vivarium set up. It was very informative. I came home with 3 Imitators from Tor Linbo, so though it was small, I accomplished my mission, met some awsome people. It was a little like going to a Star Trek Convention though-I felt like I was a little bit of a nerd and I loved being with my other nerd friends. Only Frog lovers understand the bug we have that would make me fly on a plane to see a show. The next one nearest us is in Sacramento in November. I think I might drive this time and bring home a lot more. I nearly had a nervous breakdown when I asked the male security officer to hand check my Imitators and he took the box and ran after the female security officer nearly causing a scene with all the bomb scares. I quickly left the checkpoint and tucked the box into my son's Backpack and placed rubber frogs into a deli container and set it on top of the container that the Imitators were in. Thats how I got on the plane when they didn't allow animals on. But John Gibeau and Jennifer Davis of Tinc.Com flew with 40 frogs in their carry on.(By the way, they are the nicest people!) Try to go to the next one, it will be a blast!

Hi,
Just wondering about your imitator setup, I noticed you have both misting AND fogging. I was curious as to why you decided to go with both of these methods of increasing humidity. Is is too dry where you are to get by with just one?

Yeah, it seems like a lot of water. So here's the reason-people are saying that the misting helps the breeding happen. The fog is really only for affect. I didn't get any comments that breeding increases only on the rise of humidity except from one source-Black Jungle. Everyone else said, misting does the trick, but if the 2 combined would cause TOO MUCH humidity then I would just go with the misting alone. Do you have any thoughts on the subject? Thanks

Misting (Higher humidity) does help with breeding, whether by automatic or hand sprayer. I find no breeding-related advantages with the automated system except convenience. I think it is the changes in humidity right after a spray more than anything that stimulate calling and breeding. As for the fogging, I don't think it adds much if a tank is misted anyway, it would just be mostly for effect, as you say.