Thermostat question

[LeopardGeckoBreederFan]

What do you guys reccommend for a thermostat? I'd prefer it to be a little bit cheaper but good enough to use on an incubator. I got one but it didn't have it to the exact degree like I thought. Thanks for your help!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

What do you guys reccommend for a thermostat? I'd prefer it to be a little bit cheaper but good enough to use on an incubator. I got one but it didn't have it to the exact degree like I thought. Thanks for your help!

Which thermostat do you have?

I like the Hydrofarm MTPRTC thermostat available from Amazon for about $32. It is the only inexpensive thermostat I know of with a digital readout and a small metal probe. It's range should vary no more that -/+ 3 degrees F from the set maximum temperature.

If you wish to spend more (? $100 up) proportional thermostats are more accurate. My Leo Care Sheet has links to many. Alternatively you could check the stock of the Bean Farm, a reputable online supplier.

- The Bean Farm

 

[LeopardGeckoBreederFan]

I actually got a rheostat thinking it was the same as a thermostat (I was rushing and I didn't do my research). It's Zoomed's ReptiTemp Rheostat. I'll look at your care sheet and bean farm to see what I can find and compare prices. Thank you!

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I actually got a rheostat thinking it was the same as a thermostat (I was rushing and I didn't do my research). It's Zoomed's ReptiTemp Rheostat. I'll look at your care sheet and bean farm to see what I can find and compare prices. Thank you!

You are quite welcome!

I very well know that learning curve. ;-)

 

[LeopardGeckoBreederFan]

Lol I learn more every day. Who knew there was so many little things to learn about this? But hey, I enjoy it xD

 

[LeopardGeckoBreederFan]

Do eggs need a night time drop? I see that some thermostats have night and day temps so...is that necessary? If it isn't I'll go for less expensive ones that only have one setting. I'm willing to go above $100 but I'm really trying not to. I want to actually have some money saved up for when I go to college next fall lol.

 

[Saskia]

Eggs do not need it, but can take it, I have incubated both ways, with steady temps, with no more that 1 degree drop, and with a night drop of about 2-3 degrees... I have been more succesfull with steady temps, in regards of determining the sex of the hatchlins according to the temps they were incubated at, but, both ways I have had a very succesfull hatch rate

 

[LeopardGeckoBreederFan]

Lol ok. I shall stay with the steady temps. I want to have half and half of females and males so I'm going to keep it at 85, because if I read right that was in the middle of the temps for incubation

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Do eggs need a night time drop? I see that some thermostats have night and day temps so...is that necessary? If it isn't I'll go for less expensive ones that only have one setting. I'm willing to go above $100 but I'm really trying not to. I want to actually have some money saved up for when I go to college next fall lol.

Lol ok. I shall stay with the steady temps. I want to have half and half of females and males so I'm going to keep it at 85, because if I read right that was in the middle of the temps for incubation

The Hydrofarm thermostat will provide you with some variability naturally. Check out post #59 following my Leo Care Sheet for more information. If you set the temperature at say 87*F, the temperature will drop no more than 3*F before turning on again.

What do the specs say for the proportional thermostats you are checking out?

I incubated Oedura castelnaui eggs in 2012 between 75-80*F. The outcome was 4.4 hatchlings. Very nice!

 

[LeopardGeckoBreederFan]

If I didn't get the Hydrofarm thermostat I would get the Helix DBS1000 (the plain one) or the Herpstat 1. But if the Hydrofarm will work just as well as them I'd much rather get the $36 one than the $139. Is it as reliable as the Helix and Herpstat? I'm willing to spend money to get a good reliable one but I don't want to spend over $150. I don't have to have it fancy, I just want it to work well. I don't mind a bit of swing like you were talking about.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

If I didn't get the Hydrofarm thermostat I would get the Helix DBS1000 (the plain one) or the Herpstat 1. But if the Hydrofarm will work just as well as them I'd much rather get the $36 one than the $139. Is it as reliable as the Helix and Herpstat? I'm willing to spend money to get a good reliable one but I don't want to spend over $150. I don't have to have it fancy, I just want it to work well. I don't mind a bit of swing like you were talking about.

I only have experience with the Hydrofarm MTPRTC.

I was not even using my Hydrofarm thermostat for those 2012 eggs...just a Taylor digital minimum-maximum thermometer set mid-range and protected from any direct sun rays. The variability was about +/- 3*F.

Some people say a bit of variability is actually good for the eggs.

What are the variability specs for those proportional thermostats?