Do I need a thermostat?

[Kitsune]

Hello all,

First time posting, as I am looking at setting everything up for a future beardie to join me.

My previous reptile experience is with leopard geckos. For my leo, I use a thermostat (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NZZG3S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
which is connected to an under tank heater. There's a probe connected to it that monitors the floor temperature, and then turns the under tank heater on or off as needed so that it stays within the desired temperature range.

Do people recommend using these with beardies, or is it better to just get a temperature gun and monitor this manually? If I should get a thermostat, then where do you suggest that I set up the probe which monitors the temperature? My understanding is that I should measure the basking temperature on a basking log, not the floor temperature.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mysty]

A mid range dimming stat for your basking bulb. 2 additional probe thermometers. One under the basking spot level with beardies back, another for the cool end.

In addition to this, a 10/12% UVB strip light.

 

[CooperDragon]

The thermostat is nice to have but isn't necessary if you have a good way of controlling temps such as raising/lowering the basking light or manually dimming it when needed. If you are on a budget I would put more money toward a higher quality UVB light and properly sized tank before getting a thermostat. If you have the money available after that I would definitely get a thermostat. I use a Herpstat2 to control my basking light and a CHE over the tank. It will automatically (according to what you program) adjust the output of the lights to maintain the temps you want. I have one probe (For the basking light) zip tied to the basking surface and the other (for the CHE) mounted to the cool side floor so I can see the gradient and have the CHE turn on only when the cool side drops below 70 and turn off when it's above 73 for example.

 

[Kitsune]

The thermostat is nice to have but isn't necessary if you have a good way of controlling temps such as raising/lowering the basking light or manually dimming it when needed. If you are on a budget I would put more money toward a higher quality UVB light and properly sized tank before getting a thermostat. If you have the money available after that I would definitely get a thermostat. I use a Herpstat2 to control my basking light and a CHE over the tank. It will automatically (according to what you program) adjust the output of the lights to maintain the temps you want. I have one probe (For the basking light) zip tied to the basking surface and the other (for the CHE) mounted to the cool side floor so I can see the gradient and have the CHE turn on only when the cool side drops below 70 and turn off when it's above 73 for example.

Thank you so much - by dimming it, do you mean during the night, or when it gets too hot?

The Herpstat 2 looks nice, but expensive - I think the thermostat/probe sets I use with my leo are only about $20 a piece. What are the major advantages of using something like the Herpstat?

I recently picked up a 36 by 24 by 18 (roughly 65 gallon) melamine tank from a reptile show. I'm sure I'll be popping by here a lot as I work over the next few months to get everything ready!!!

 

[CooperDragon]

The main advantage is that it's programmable and can control two outputs so you can have the daylight basking bulb on a dimmer and the night light can be on pulse. It also has a ramp up and ramp down feature to simulate sunrise and sunset. As I said, these aren't necessary but are a nice luxury. Having high quality UVB lighting is more important given a choice. The goal of the thermostat is mainly to keep the temperature within a certain range by dimming the lighting slightly if it gets too warm during the day and kicking in a night heater as needed so if you have something that does that, it should work for you.