ZooMed ReptiTemp 500R

[Thoth]

Every pic I can find of this gadget is of the packaging, so I can't tell if it's "remote" because it's got a 6-foot cord or if it has two separate pieces. What I'm concerned about is having the cord from the probe keeping my lid from closing properly (the problem I'm having with my current thermostat). I know many of you have this particular thermostat. So can one of you tell me? Does it have one piece that goes in the viv and another *separate* piece (no cord attachment) that goes outside and controls the UTH? Or are the two physically connected?

Thanks.

 

[desertanimal]

They are physically connected with a cord that's the size of a regular, flat, electrical cord on household small appliances.

 

[Ginafish]

The 500R is all one piece, what with the heating pad connected by electrical cord to the thermostat itself, and then another cord that has the probe on it running from the thermostat. I have the same one, and I find it is a bit tough to finagle the dang thing to get the lid to close properly with that thick probe cord running out of it. :headbang:

 

[GregF]

I use the ReptiTemp 500R and, as desertanimal says, there is a 6' cord between the control unit and the probe. However, there is no need to run a wire though the lid of the tank, if you set it up as I described in this earlier post.

 

[JustineNYC]

I had my probe taped underneath one of my tanks for a while but I had the tape come loose after a few weeks, I guess from the heat......be careful to watch it doesnt come off. If it dislodges itself from the heat mat, and the probe isnt where it should be, your temps will soar.

I have a standard screen lid, and the metal where the corners are, and overlap onto the top...the way its designed there is no metal around the corners so the plug fits right into that slit........Keep the lid snug down with extra clips you should be ok.

 

[desertanimal]

If you don't want to do it how Greg does it, you could also cut a notch out of the top edge with a dremel tool.

 

[GregF]

I had my probe taped underneath one of my tanks for a while but I had the tape come loose after a few weeks, I guess from the heat......be careful to watch it doesnt come off. If it dislodges itself from the heat mat, and the probe isnt where it should be, your temps will soar.

Well, that's a good point, although you'd have a similar situation if your inside probe was dislodged by a burrowing snake (probably not as severe, as the substrate would hold some of the heat). Two strips of electrical tape criss-crossed feels pretty secure to me. Plus, the tape gets changed about once a month, when I clean the viv.

 

[Hawkin']

Could you drill a hole big enough for the probe in the flat metal part of the lid?I don't use any lids on the tanks I have but I just looked at a 20 gal long and there is a half circle already cut out of the frame work.If you lined that up with the drilled hole you could fit the probe from one of my therms in there.I know some people that had problems with the Zoo med therm.If it was me,I'd spend a little extra and get a good quality therm like a Johnson or Ranco.You can get them with a 6 plug strip to run 6 pads off the same therm,that's worth the price difference right there.

 

[Tinycritters]

Can it be used for more than one UTH? I have two vivs and would definitly buy one if I knew it would work for both of them.

 

[Hawkin']

I'm not sure but I think the Zoo med will run 3 UTHs.For about the price of 2 Zoo meds you can get a Johnson to run 6 and have a much higher quality unit. And let's face it,everyone on here knows there's no way you can stop at 2 snakes!!!! In a year you'll have at least 4 or 5 :grin01:

 

[Tinycritters]

I'm not sure but I think the Zoo med will run 3 UTHs.For about the price of 2 Zoo meds you can get a Johnson to run 6 and have a much higher quality unit. And let's face it,everyone on here knows there's no way you can stop at 2 snakes!!!! In a year you'll have at least 4 or 5

Thanks for the advice Hawkin' ! I'm sure i'll have more than 4 or 5 in at least a year or two. :crazy02: what was i thinking lol

 

[Flagg]

One thermostat can run multiple vivs as long as they have identical heat mats and the vivs themselves are pretty much identical.

 

[JustineNYC]

Well, that's a good point, although you'd have a similar situation if your inside probe was dislodged by a burrowing snake (probably not as severe, as the substrate would hold some of the heat). Two strips of electrical tape criss-crossed feels pretty secure to me. Plus, the tape gets changed about once a month, when I clean the viv.

I use the thermometer probes suction cup to hold both down, but the Zoo meds probe is heavy enough, plus with the lid holding the cord in place, Ive never seen it move, that includes when my snakes dangle from the cord.

Thats the con, on the outside, the lid cannot keep the cord in place.

 

[JustineNYC]

Can it be used for more than one UTH? I have two vivs and would definitly buy one if I knew it would work for both of them.

I have this thermostat, it runs 2 UTH's.

 

[Nanci]

It only runs two mats, and only one needs the probe. I made a small hole for the cord to fit through in the metal lids of all mine that have 500Rs on them. They are mostly Kritter Keepers, so they also have a plastic punch out on the lip of the tank.

Nanci

 

[Thoth]

I use the ReptiTemp 500R and, as desertanimal says, there is a 6' cord between the control unit and the probe. However, there is no need to run a wire though the lid of the tank, if you set it up as I described in this earlier post.

Do you have a picture of that by any chance? So...if I'm picturing it correctly, you have your probe suction cupped to the backside of the UTH (the labeled side)? (The way I've pictured it, looking at it at a cross-section, from top to bottom: bottom glass pane of viv, then heat mat, then thermostat probe.) Is the temperature the same on both sides of the heat pad?

As for the suggestion about drilling a hole through the flat metal part, the way my lid works is it's all screen except the edges that fit into grooves in the plastic mounted along the lip of the viv. So drilling through the plastic part would go into the glass. And anyway, the screen pulls out like a drawer, so I'd have to yank out the probe cord every time I opened the viv. Hrmpf. I think I'll just kinda wing it until she gets too big for the gap. I honestly don't even think she can fit through the gap as it is, but I just want to make sure.

For now, I've just got plain old tape covering the gap (on the outside so she can't actually touch the tape). I remove the tape every time I open the viv.

Maybe once I start my new job I'll chuck the whole dodgy contraption and buy a new viv with a better lid. :grin01:

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Nanci]

Here's mine. Open:

 

[Nanci]

With the lid closed:

 

[GregF]

Do you have a picture of that by any chance? So...if I'm picturing it correctly, you have your probe suction cupped to the backside of the UTH (the labeled side)? (The way I've pictured it, looking at it at a cross-section, from top to bottom: bottom glass pane of viv, then heat mat, then thermostat probe.) Is the temperature the same on both sides of the heat pad?

I don't have a picture but you've pretty much gotten it right. The only part you didn't name was the thermometer probe. So the cross section from top to bottom goes:

Thermometer probe (suction cupped)
Glass
UTH
Thermostat probe (taped)​

The temperature may not be exactly the same on both sides of the glass but it doesn't matter, because you are adjusting the thermostat setting based on the reading from the thermometer probe.

It sounds like you have the same tank lid that I do, with the sliding screen. I was worried about the gap too, so I added stick-on Velcro closures on both corners and now it won't move at all and there is no gap. I do have a picture of that: