Need help finding a thermo/rheo/ heating questions

I need some help in finding a good, cheap-ish thermo or rheo for my uth, id love some help! Some links would be nice or brand names.
I also have some questions about how to heat. Im a bit confused, theres so much info, idk what to do. Currently i have a 20 gallon tank, aspen bedding, a heat lamp i use during the day, and the uth. The little thermo i use that sticks on never goes up passed 80 with the heat lamp on. Ive left my hand against the spot where she lays on the uth and it seems the aspen keeps it from getting too hot. It seems near impossible to get the temp up where it needs to be! I hate that shes always cold :( it worries me she might get sick. Shes active enough, it seems she stays warm enough to keep her fairly happy, but i know its not enough. My house stays fairly cool, around 70-75.


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Do you mean thermostat or thermometer? You don't want to go cheap with a thermostat. As with a thermometer, you can get a very nice accurite thermometer for $8.00 at walmart and it is very accurate. It has a probe and reads the ambient temperature in the tank as well as the temperature right where the UTH is.

I know you said cheap but it's probably not a good idea. I got a herpstat 1 from spider robotics and so far it has worked perfectly. If not, I believe there are hydrofarm thermostats for around $30 or so.

Zilla makes decent thermostats that will handle up to 1000w. Not bad for ~$45. I started out with them and have slowly been swapping to all HerpStats on all my racks. Just a few left to swap out.

I'd recommend the Hydrofarm thermostat. It's worked perfectly for me so far and is around $30 on Amazon. Also your local Petsmart or Petco have nice digital thermometers with probes for $8-9. Definitely stay away from analog(gauge) thermometers and hygrometers(measures humidity) as they are not accurate at all. You want to place one thermometer probe on the cold side close to the ground and one thermometer probe on the hot side underneath the substrate directly on top of the heating pad. A hygrometer should be placed a couple inches off the ground around the middle of the cage.

As for keeping heat in if you have a screen top, you can cover half of it with tin foil and tape that down. It will help hold heat and humidity inside.

Thermostat:

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...arm+thermostat

Thermometer:

http://www.petsmart.com/reptile/humi...t=pfm%3Dsearch

Hygrometer:

http://www.petsmart.com/reptile/humi...t=pfm%3Dsearch

You can also check if you have a local hydropoic/aquaponic shop around you, some will carry the hydrofarm.

Now for all of the RED flags you are showing.
#1, your UTH needs to be regulated. DO NOT depend on bedding for regulation, your snake can and will burrow.
#2, how are you monitoring your temps?
#3, where are you measuring your temps?

I am very worried that the thermostat question seems to be the second most asked,
the first being " my snake won't eat ".
Reptile keeping requires proper equipment,
thermostats are at the top of that list and if there's one thing you don't want to
skimp on, its a thermostat. if you can't buy one don't buy the snake.
The loss of a pet because of an unregulated heat source is a hard and
unnecessary lesson to learn.
Be a responsible keeper, give your animals what they need for their health and safety,
in the process it will give you piece of mind.

So question; what if the hotspot where the probe will go is way hotter than the actual temp of the tank? Wont turning it down also make the tank cooler? Ive heard some people say bps only need belly heat whereas others say they need a tank temp up to 85 and a hotspot of 90. I suppose my resources were not very reliable :/ i want whats best for my girl! So will having the uth on a thermostat and the heat lamp be good?


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Your UTH MUST be regulated by a thermostat. If it's not then unplug the thing before your snake gets burned. A vet visit to treat a burn costs lots more than a thermostat does.

The thermostat probe should be between the UTH and the bottom of the tank. You need to set it so that the UTH heats the bottom surface of the tank where your snake lies to about 90*F, as measured with an IR thermometer or temp gun. I start mine set at 90*F, let it run for a few hours, measure the bottom of the tank, and adjust the thermostat up or down as needed until the glass is 90*F where the snake will lie.

I don't bother with a heat lamp as I find it kills humidity. Instead I keep my herp room temp in the mid-70's so the enclosures run 78*F cool and 90*F warm.