Thermostat Questions

Druddy1985

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Hey all, probably a stupid question, but, I purchased a reptile thermostat to maintain ideal temps for my little Toki. Where is the best spot in his enclosure to place the probe, and what should I set my minimum and max temps based on that location?

Thanks in advance
 

katieandiggy

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What heating do you have?
I have a thermostat for my basking lamp and I place the probe directly under the lamp set to 35c
At the other end I have a CHE that I only use in winter to stop the temps going too low and I place the probe at the tortoises level close to where he sleeps and set that to 19c
 

Druddy1985

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I have a 100w CHE as my heat source. He is just a hatchling so I'm trying to keep his temps around 85.
 

katieandiggy

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Yes you kind of want an all over temperature ... maybe the probe in the centre of the tank? I know some Redfoots do like to bask too
I’ll tag a Redfoot keeper and see what they do @Toddrick
 

Tom

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I see this is for a RF, so I'll defer to any RF keepers that chime in, but in my enclosures, I put the probe in the coolest corner away from any heat sources so I can maintain a minimum ambient temp in the whole enclosure.
 

Druddy1985

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I see this is for a RF, so I'll defer to any RF keepers that chime in, but in my enclosures, I put the probe in the coolest corner away from any heat sources so I can maintain a minimum ambient temp in the whole enclosure.

And what do you feel would be an appropriate minimum ambient temp setting for the thermostat?
 

NorCal tortoise guy

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I see this is for a RF, so I'll defer to any RF keepers that chime in, but in my enclosures, I put the probe in the coolest corner away from any heat sources so I can maintain a minimum ambient temp in the whole enclosure.
I do the same. Mine are set at 80f
 

Tom

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And what do you feel would be an appropriate minimum ambient temp setting for the thermostat?
For my species I do 80, but they also have a basking lamp to warm up under during the day. Some RF keepers go a little warmer than that though, and don't use a basking lamp. I have very little RF experience so I'd rather that one of our more experienced members give you specific numbers.
 

Toddrickfl1

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I have my CHE on one end of the enclosure and I keep my probe in the middle about halfway in between where my CHE is and the other end of the enclosure. I keep mine set at 88f. It usually stays a degree or two over directly under the CHE and a degree or two under on the other side.
 

Druddy1985

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I have my CHE on one end of the enclosure and I keep my probe in the middle about halfway in between where my CHE is and the other end of the enclosure. I keep mine set at 88f. It usually stays a degree or two over directly under the CHE and a degree or two under on the other side.

Ok this information is exactly what I needed. And would keeping the set thermostat temp at 88 be too much for a hatchling?
 

Toddrickfl1

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Ok this information is exactly what I needed. And would keeping the set thermostat temp at 88 be too much for a hatchling?
No that's what I keep mine at. The thermostat kicks on at 86f and off at 88f.
 

Redstrike

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I keep a gradient for my 4 redfoots.
On the warm, bright side, I set my temps ~85 with a basking location that I have seen them use.

On the cool, dark side, I set the temps at 80.

I use a couple Herpstats (expensive) and ceramic heat emitters to accomplish this. I have used the Zoo Med 500R's in the past and they worked fine. They just cycle the temps within a 2-3ºF range since they are on/off and not proportional pulse.

I know the Herpstat (Spyder robotics) units are pricey, but even their cheapest units are excellent. I recommend them to everyone I can. About a year ago, my wife accidentally plugged the vacuum cleaner into one of the powerstrips attached to the unit (Herpstat 4). I sent it back to the company and they replaced everything under warranty despite the unit being 5 years old.
https://www.spyderrobotics.com/
 

Druddy1985

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So I've had my thermostat installed for a few days now, and Toki seems to be enjoying his new ambient temperature.

But, the read on the thermostat can sometimes run up to 10° lower than my zoomed thermometer, which is placed in the exact same spot. Can it be that the thermostat is getting a better read on the ambient temps or is there a chance the thermostat is defective?
 

Redstrike

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So I've had my thermostat installed for a few days now, and Toki seems to be enjoying his new ambient temperature.

But, the read on the thermostat can sometimes run up to 10° lower than my zoomed thermometer, which is placed in the exact same spot. Can it be that the thermostat is getting a better read on the ambient temps or is there a chance the thermostat is defective?

Hard to say if the thermostat or thermometer (or both) are not calibrated correctly.

It could be each one is a couple degrees off and you’re receiving readings that are off by 10 degrees. That’s a big range for error but we will never know unless you try a different thermostat or thermometer. Swap out the thermometer first as it’s cheaper and see what readings you get. I’d reach out to Zoo Med customer service if the thermostat seems to be the issue.
 

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