Zoo Med Repti Temp Rheostat
$24.44
Price: $24.44
(as of Apr 11, 2025 06:26:42 UTC – Details)
With a turn of the knob, you can adjust the temperature of most heating devices. Plug in up to two compatible heat sources with a combined wattage of up to 150 watts. Turn your heaters down or back up depending on the ambient room temperature. Great for use with Zoo Meds Repticare Rock Heaters, Ceramic Heat Emitters, Reptitherm Under Tank Heaters, and Reptile Basking Spot Lamps.
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
Product Dimensions : 12.2 x 2.7 x 2.2 inches; 7.2 ounces
Item model number : RT10
Department : Unisex-Adult
Date First Available : June 20, 2004
Manufacturer : Zoo Med Laboratories
ASIN : B001OVD7Q8
For manual heat control of your reptile’s habitat
A single Rheostat will control up to 150 total watts of heating devices
With a turn of the knob, you can adjust the temperature of most heating devices
Allows you to plug in and manually control up to two compatible heating sources
Ideal for use with non thermostatically controlled reptile heating devices, such as: rock heaters, heat caves, and all overhead incandescent heat bulbs up to 150 watts total
Customers say
Customers find the rheostat easy to use and appreciate its functionality, with one mentioning it works well with under-tank heating pads. The temperature control receives mixed feedback – while it adjusts overhead light temperature, some note it doesn’t have a temperature range. Durability is also mixed, with some finding it durable while others report it breaking within a month of use. Customers disagree on the value for money, and several mention the plugs are loose.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Pale rider –
A good product
This works really good I use it for my bearded dragons hot rock. I live in Arizona and in the summer it gets to hot to have her rock running at such a high temperature. But thereâs a lot of other things you can use it for like a dimmer for there light. Anyway itâs well made and works good. Thank you
Diane Emmons –
NEWBIE here…liking this product!
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.
Dawn Sadler –
Sturdy construction, easy to use
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.
BL –
Works Fine
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!
Kathyrae White –
Great Item
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.
ChelseaK –
No good!!
I purchased this item to go along with my zoomed under tank heater. The goal was to bring the heater down into the 83-87 degree range so that it would be a safe heating source for my corn snake. This product did not do it’s job. Because it has three settings instead of a true gradient, the heat mat temperature stayed consistently above 90 degrees even at the lowest temperature setting. I ended up going to home depot and getting a lamp dimmer, it cost half as much and works much better for my purposes. This however does make a pretty good three setting lamp dimmer.
Book Reviews –
Works but is outdated tech.
My plugs were a bit loose for my taste. More modern tech options for this price. You donât need a âreptileâ 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.
Long-time Mom –
Exactly what I need
Glad I found this one. They seem to be hard to come by. I use this in conjunction with a hot pad on which I put a cup of water to heat up my snakesâ dinner. Itâs perfect for that use. I can get their meal to a steady 100 degrees with no trouble at all. Not sure why theyâre so hard to find but if you do find one, youâd better grab it. Might never find another.
mdee –
So far so good. Works as it should. Hoping it’ll prevent UTH from overheating and melting again.
Mike P –
Worked fine until I woke up this morning and my DHP had completely cooled off, not emitting any heat. Wonât be relying on this to keep my gecko warm if it can just stop working like that.
Fallon Johnson –
Works perfect but i wish there was one with a digital display of some sort
Amazon Customer –
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.
Terry Marshall –
Itâs pretty cheesy, I guess it worked ok until I got my thermostats…. go with a thermostat with temp probe instead.