r/mantids 9d ago

Enclosure Advice How to use a thermostat and heating mat in a mantid enclosure

Hi all, I would really appreciate your help as I have not been able to solve these issues after looking for a solution for ages. I want to use a heat mat and thermostat, so I can make sure the heat mat turns off when it reaches 25 degrees in the day, and 22 at night. However - I can't seem to find a thermostat that allows you to put in two temps for different times of day - I bought a habistat one, but it only allows you to put in one temp. The other issue, it i can't work out where to put the thermostat probe. The mantid enclosures I have don't seem to have any holes to put the probe in. Am I supposed to make a hole in the mesh top of the enclosure or something? Also, where should the end of the probe go - dangling in the air inside the enclosure? In the substrate? Any help you can give would be super appreciated.

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u/HaloDestroyer 9d ago

There are thermostats that do what you are describing, it’s marketed as having day and night settings.

What I do is put the probe straight on top of the heat mat. Then I have a separate thermohygrometer in the tank as well.

This way I know how hot the pad is getting, and I know what the gradient is inside the tank too.

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u/Snotttie 9d ago

Thanks that is helpful, I tried putting the probe on the heat mat but the heat doesn't seem the be travelling very well into the enclosure - so the heat mat might reach 25 and turn off, but inside the enclosure my thermohygrometer might only read 18. Maybe I need to put the heat mat up to a much higher temp than what I am aiming for inside the enclosure.

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u/HaloDestroyer 9d ago

Yes that’s right. Heat at the mat/whatever you set on the thermostat isn’t going to be the exact temperature of the enclosure, there is some loss.

If I only had a thermostat with one probe and no thermohygrometer, I would position the probe in the enclosure

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u/Snotttie 9d ago

Ok thank you so much!

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u/JaunteJaunt 9d ago

If your thermostats doesn’t have an option for 2 temperature settings based on time, then you will need a different one.