Zoo Med Repti Temp Rheostat

I have never in my life bought a rheostat. I bought 2 because I was worried that if one broke or something was wrong from the get go, I would have a back up right away. My daughter uses this for her hedgehog enclosure. Before we purchased this, we were using an old oil heater that I think had seen the days of the dinosaurs. We plugged in the heat emitter and then played with the temperature a bit til we got it at where it needed to be. It works great tho. We have not had to wiggle the plugs trying to get things plugged in. They plugs are secure and I don't have to worry about anything falling out. As long as we monitor the temperature of the enclosure and adjust accordingly, I would happily say it is doing what it is suppose to do.My only complaint, I stated I had purchased 2 in my order. The second one did not fair so well. The screw that holds the faceplate on was stripped. I don't really think it is a product defect tho, more of someone tightening the screw and not knowing their own strength.

i try this on a zoo med heat pad and in the low settings was heating to over 90 so not really good for this heat pad i think its because the heat pad design but i'm planing to use it on heat lamps but it works what its design to do feed less power to the appliance your using.ps: this particular zoo med heat pad heats up to 140 without the rheostat so it does work just cant reduce the power lower then 92 F

First let me confess...When the plug to my zoo med 8 watt heating pad only went halfway in..lol..I didn't rock it back and forth and apply the right amount of pressure. Therefore, I thought why isn't the plug going in??? ( Sooooo blonde and a reptile newb besides ). So yeh, put the plug in and it will meet with the metal but you have to work the plug in the first time..it WILL go in! lol. Now, onto the review! I use these with the zoo med small 8 watt heating pad which is on the outside bottom of my custom made vivariums. I keep tessera corn snakes. I started on LOW and have been SLOWLY dialing up, all the while taking temps with my laser temp gun. These are working out VERY well. Before them my hot spot was BURNING hot and I had to pile up the substrate. Now? Hot spot is a nice comfy 84 degrees all the time. Sheds are perfect. Snakes are loving it! And if they're happy so am I. Here is one of my 8 cages that I use the mat under plugged into the rheostat.

Works as described; think electric blanket. You'll make very minor adjustments to regulate electric current and therefore, temperature. This item is rather archaic, but I got it for my King Snake, who doesn't mind having a constant temp on one end of the cage and a cooler side on the other. For a more intensive temperature flux situation, I recommend a real, digital temperature controller.One which handles more wattage and has a three prong outlet, a digital display and temperature probe for automatic regulation is only slightly more expensive: Hydrofarm MTPRTC Digital Thermostat For Heat Mats-EDIT SEVERAL MONTHS LATER - Don't waste your time with a rheostat if you are serious about your pet. During the summer months, I found the rheostat to be a pain, especially trying to keep the temp. stable. *I recommend the Thermostat mentioned above all the way*, as it has a temp shutoff. For $26, you can't beat it. The same type of item by Zoo Med is around $50 I think, and is not even nearly as good!

This is a handy little product to have around! I have two leopard geckos in separate cages, the first gecko was getting too hot even though I had the appropriate heat lamp for his enclosure. I found this neat rheostat at a local pet store and it worked amazingly to keep his cage at the correct temp all summer. When the next leopard gecko came into our lives I knew I had to have another one of these rheostats to regulate his cage as well.Sturdy construction, easy to use. Plug the rheostat into the wall outlet then plug the lamp into the rheostat and you're ready to regulate!It does take about an hour to regulate the temp to where the rheostat will hold that temp. Best to start off at low and after an hour check the temp then adjust as needed. Also, because it's not an actual thermostat you'll need to check the temp regularly, especially when the ambient room temp is warm, and adjust as needed.This rheostat has been great for our needs, I've had no issues or complaints.

Brand new everything. Two plugs are so loose I'm going to have to use something extra to keep connection. Find a better product is your best bet.

My plugs were a bit loose for my taste. More modern tech options for this price. You don’t need a “reptile” rheostat, you just need a good inline rheostat for half the price. Simple splice into an extension power cord and control as many heaters and bulbs as you need.

This product is great. I'm a chemist who is working on developing a new product at home. I can't afford the most expensive equipment so it helps when I find something that is affordable and serves the same purpose as more expensive lab equipment. This product helps me control the temperature of the many heat sources I may use and is durable!!!!

So far so good. Works as it should. Hoping it'll prevent UTH from overheating and melting again.

Worked fine until I woke up this morning and my DHP had completely cooled off, not emitting any heat. Won’t be relying on this to keep my gecko warm if it can just stop working like that.

Works perfect but i wish there was one with a digital display of some sort

I have two of these, and have compared them to much cheaper dimmer switches from any hardware store. The dimmers work much better than this and are WAY cheaper. I picked up two dimmers at a local store for $5 each. Furthermore, I tested the same heat pad on this, and on the everyday dimmer switch, and the dimmer had a MUCH better temperature control; on 'low' this product was still quite hot, while the dimmer switch was just warm.

It’s pretty cheesy, I guess it worked ok until I got my thermostats.... go with a thermostat with temp probe instead.