Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im proud of my eleven year old self i just barely finished my first rack with six level with two different sized tubs but its not heated yet so i have a few questions:
Can i use a dimmer switch instead of a thermostat because its going way over budget?
If theres like a few millimeters between the tub and shelf above is that ok?
thank in advance
chris

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Happy herping

many people use dimmers. but if your room temp flucuates a lot it might be a hassle. i doubt the difference between top of tub and the next level will make a difference to anything.
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

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nice rack.you need some room between the tub and the bottom of the next shelf,enough to keep the animal in and enough to compensate for humidity expansion.if you read back a few days ago someone wrote in about there dimmer switch smoking and it fried the heat cable,the good thing was that person was home.a chain is only as strong as the weakest link.you have built a nice rack you will spend time and money to heat it and put your prized animals in and then trust there safety and yours with a $3.00 dimmer switch?? the bottom line is,what are your animals and home safety worth to you ???

A few millimeters is fine unless you are keeping smaller milksnakes. I usually try for 1/8" or about 3 mm with my racks.

Many people do use dimmer switches. I try to stay out of electrical recommendations on this forum, however.