Need emergency set up. Anyplace to buy a thermostat locally?

I need to do an emergency tub set up today (long story below). Is there any place to buy a thermostat locally? I have the expected stores around - Walmart, petsmart/co, HD, Lowes.

I'm a single snake kind of gal. We have a nice, custom melamine enclosure outfitted with RHP (on a hydro farm stat). Little Monty managed to escape from it a 2nd time the 2nd week of June. The first time I had assumed the sliding door must have been not quite closed but luckily he turned up just a few days later. The 2nd time I know for a fact the door was completely closed. The only thing we could figure was he pushed his way *between* the overlap of the sliding doors. I could just barely force my finger there, it couldn't haven felt good for him but that's the only place he could have squeezed out. We searched and searched. Tried all the recomended tricks. No Monty.

Because he was never a good eater, he was a tiny thing without much in the way of reserves. After two months I felt there was no hope for him.

Last week I came across someone needing to rehome their collection. Since I'm not interested in breeding, I was happy to take his very friendly, very big normal. He's in great shape, well cared for, owner had personal reasons he had to give them up. Cocoa came home Tuesday.

You can see where this is going I'm sure. Guess who I found sitting right out in the middle of the room last night? I actually thought it was a toy snake for a second because he was just THERE out in the open. Poor little dude's face was covered in dust bunnies and he's SO skinny! Gave him a quick dip in warm water, got him in a plastic shoebox with water & a hide. He took a loooong drink and ate a fuzzy. I have him in a room with no AC (about 80-82) but will be getting a tub set up for him today. Eventually I'll get a PVC cage & RHP for Monty too but have to budget for that!

You can get a rheostat from a pet store or a dimmer switch from a home improvement store. The rheostat would be much safer, but still should be monitored closely until you can get a t-stat.

I suggest a dimmer, just be sure to check the temps often and make sure it's only temporary until a thermostat comes in the mail. They are tricky to find in person. I got a plug-in lamp simmer from Home Depot for like $10.

If you have a nursery nearby or a greenhouse sometimes they carry the Hydrofarm thermostats. Short of that, pet store or hardware store.

If he's staying in a room that stays at 80-82deg, I would just order the thermostat online and hook up his heat pad when it gets there. A couple of cooler days shouldn't hurt him, and Amazon ships pretty quickly - you could probably expedite shipping for less or the same as the cost of a rheostat.

Congrats on finding him. That's the best part of this post. Haw fun with both of your BPs. And while you are at it, you should probably start stocking up on supplies for additional slithery friends because I'm sure you won't stop at 2.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

I suggest a dimmer, just be sure to check the temps often and make sure it's only temporary until a thermostat comes in the mail. They are tricky to find in person. I got a plug-in lamp simmer from Home Depot for like $10.

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^ Agreed! Your local hardware store, home depot, walmart etc should all have a plug in light dimmer available. As stated above be vigilante and check your temperatures frequently, always best to error on the side of caution.

One thing to keep in mind with rheostats and dimmers. They do not fail OFF like most thermostats do, instead they fail ON and act as if there is no temperature control device monitoring your heat source. They are good for a quick fix and serve their purpose, but should be used with caution IMO.

Thanks everyone!
I'm still in shock he showed up! He must have been really dehydrated because while still too skinny, he's looking a lot plumper since last night. We had kept a water dish on the floor the whole time he was gone, we just picked it up a few days ago. I'm wondering if not having the water dish prompted him to come out in the open.

Anyhoo, all set up, followed the tub set up sticky above.
No luck finding a thermostat locally. No private garden centers nearby, just big box stores.

I took the hydrofarm off the RHP in the big cage to use on the tub and am just waiting for the temps to stabilize before I put Monty in there.

I ordered another hydrofarm from Amazon for the big cage. I have prime membership so it will be here Wed. I figure there's no burn danger with the RHP, I'll be home most of the time the next two days so I can keep a close eye on the temp in the big cage plus it's big enough for him to temp regulate easily.