I use this as a thermostat controller for Zoo Med ReptiTherm Under Tank Heater, 30-40 Gallon in an enclosure for my Ball Python. It is a lot cheaper compared to most reptile name-brand controllers and so far I have zero complaints about it. It works great with the heat pad and comes with a probe attached to it, meaning you won't have to buy a separate probe for it.

My advice is make sure you put the probe, preferably in whatever substrate you are using, where it will best read the temperature coming from whatever heat pad you are using. If you don't, the controller will constantly be working to get to where you set the desired temperature to, which basically means it will get -really- hot, which could be a huge danger to reptiles.

I highly recommend this as a cheaper alternative to the fancier reptile-branded controllers.

this really doesn't do much other than display temperature. What I found was that my mat ( not the controller ) would get overhot, it was in a window, when the sunlight hit the mat, the seedling mat would get hot ( as this temperature controller displayed ), e.g., 90. At night, the controller then turns on, and keeps the temp to about 70 ( which is too low ). So basically , this controller ( for my mat) was worthless. Matt is/was same wattage as the matt apollo sells. So IMO this one is a waste of $.

So I got this thermostat to help regulate the surface temperature of the tank I keep my ball python in. I had received most of the equipment from the prior owner of the snake including a thermostat for the under tank heater. However it didn't seem to work since the surface temperature kept getting either too hot or too cold when I measured the temperature with an infrared temp gun. So hoping the thermostat was the issue I ordered this one and I couldn't be happier. Great part, for me at least, is I can actually hear it working. When ever it drops below the programmed temperature I can hear a small electronic click as it begins heating and it won't usually go more than 2 or 3 degrees over the programmed temperature according to the thermostat and according to the temperature gun it stays right in the range I want it to. Super effective. Great value.

I have ordered over 50 of these!
They work great for heat mats, pads, heat tape and heat rocks.
Every reptile owner who needs heat for their animals absolutely needs these.
We sell them to every reptile owner that comes into our Reptile Pet Store.

I have had 2 failures, but when I've ordered as many of these as I have and use them as much as I do its not unheard of to have a couple failures.
The failures never led to overheating either.

I was using it for an incubator. It obviously has no way of going back to the temperature it was set on after the power goes out.

Can't set to half degrees, only full degrees, aka only 99° won't do 99.5°. Has a wide degree of variance when running. I had it set on 99°it would fluctuate between 92 and 104.

I already didn't like it, but kept using it anyways because it did indeed keep my chicks developing. Then a storm came through and the power went out when it kicked back on the thermostat didn't set automatically back to the temp it was set at. That caused it to not regulate the heat in the incubator at all, which effectively hard boiled all of my chicks :(

I guess I am just lucky I wasn't using it on wood or we might have burnt out house down...