Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok...I am no electrician! I have been zapped changing a light bulb !
I've got a UTH for my Madagascar Ground Geckos but it's just way too hot, the substrate heats up to like 110! I'm trying to decide between a rheostat, a dimmer, a .....
So I'm hoping for some detailed advice on how I would go about using a dimmer with my UTH..not just "use your UTH with a dimmer", but some details on how I would go about wiring it and all that. Or, would it be better to go with a rheostat? Or both? Or some other alternative?
I live in a small city so my options are limited and pricey..and my hubby took away my Visa so I cannot order offline lol! Thanks guys

I use zoo meds reo . I love it very easy to use just plug it in and plug the heat pad,light,etc to it and it has easy control to lower or raise temp. Couldnt be easier.
I use the smaller reo the one that can hold upto two heat sources. The newer bigger one I dont know about.
Tho I dislike their heat pads I must say their reo is great.

So from what I've been reading, the probe adheres to the glass inside the terrarium..yes? I need something that can read the temp. of my UTH more accurately, because when I measure the degrees right directly over the UTH with the digital thermometer it read around 110, but just a little over it reads lower. And near (or on) the glass, it's much lower, anywhere from high 80's to mid 90's, depending on where I read it. Is there something that can help control the UTH more accurately? Or something that can read directly above where my UTH is? It seems as though the probe reads the air temp. more so than the temp. of the substrate, is this so?

A thermostat will have a probe. Probably. This will measure the temp inside the cage and adjust the on/off power accordingly. If you want to get expensive, a proportional thermostat will actually control the amount of electricity so that it is always on. However those cost about $130 , but I would reccomend one for your situation.

A Rheostat is the exact same thing as a table lamp dimmer. If you have a home depot there go and get yourself what's called a table lamp dimmer. You plug it into the wall, then plug your UTH into that. There is a ~6 foot cable and a control module that slides up and down. This is what I would use. They cost about $13.
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote
Information on substrates

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
0.1 Texas Bairdi (Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Monty)

........you don't want to burn the house down so you NEED a quality thermostat.the herp power from big apple is $110 i believe.heating elements and there control is not a place to cut corners.a fire alarm near these devices is a good idea also.HAVE FUN !!!

after all my hissy fitting, the hubby headed to Home Depot for a dimmer! Thankfully one of us gets along with electrical appliances
I've been checking every 1/2 hr. with the digital thermometer and had to adjust it a few times...so far it's working great! Brings great peace of mind, that's for sure!
And yes, a smoke detector is very important..that's why we have one in the herp room
Thanks!