Setting up a Habistat pulse thermostat

[BadgerGirl]

Hi Friends!

Just bought a Habistat pulse thermostat to run my CHE on because I'm struggling to keep my temps right in the cold. It's my first winter with reptile.

Any tips on the proper way to set this up? Where in the tank do I put the probe? My CHE is in the centre on the viv. I want it to control the ambient/minimum cool side temp. I'm doing a full heating/lighting refit tomorrow to get it set up.

Thanks for your help! I really want to get this set up correctly and get a steady temp going.

 

[CooperDragon]

I don't have a Habistat but I have a dual output Herpstat which is probably similar. One outlet is set to dimming and controls the basking light. That probe is zip tied right to the basking surface. The other outlet controls the heat projector/CHE and is set to pulse mode. That sits over the cool side and has a probe on the floor of the cool side. It's set to kick in when the cool side probe drops below 70 and turn off when it hits 73. That keeps the cool side a little warmer overnight (which is fine) and tends to keep the basking area/hides in the upper 60s at least. It only kicks on when it's needed.

 

[BadgerGirl]

Thanks, this is a lot less functional... has a single temperature that you set rather than a min/max range.

So would I want to keep to cool side at its lowest temp or maintain a steady 73 all the time?

I have a young hunger stricking girl - would in not be better to maintain the cool end a few degrees warmer?

 

[CooperDragon]

If it's a basic on/off style I'd try to keep it in the low 70s overnight. General rule is to keep things above 65 or so. I like 70-73 or so but it can be a little higher if you want. It's good to give them a cool down period overnight but it needs to stay within reason.

 

[BadgerGirl]

Thanks. Got it set to 73 at the moment and she's already a bit more active after 2 warmer nights.