Is a thermostat necessary

a lot of you I've noticed say thermostats are helpful for the heating mat. I'm on a budget, so I'm wondering if they are necessary, and if so what is a good cheap one?

Yes. Absolutely!

Buy cheap, get cheap. I tried a cheap one once and it failed in the on position in a couple months. So I always suggest Herpstats. The Intro model is in the $100 range.

You may think a tstat is expensive but that is only because you haven't seen the exotic vet bill for treating a burn.



You should unplug the uth until you get a controller for it. It's not the best choice but a $10 dimmer from the hardware store is better than nothing.

Yes a thermostat is necessary and it is a lot cheaper than a vet bill for a burn. I don't use cheap thermostats. Expect to pay between 50 - $100 for one.

KMG beat me. You are going to see a lot of the same reply.

Ok thank you. I don't have anything yet, I am only planning on getting one in the next few months. Thanks for the advice!

Nope..... Not if you run overhead heat and use a dimmer.

Do not use any UTHing if you cannot properly regulate it.

Would you recommend overhead heat or heat mat?

As other members have stated a thermostat is a vital piece of equipment. I've used several Hydrofarm thermostats for the last 5 years without any issues. They're inexpensive but they've been very reliable for me.

https://www.amazon.com/MTPRTC-Contro...arm+thermostat

I'm with Ziggy - the Hydrofarm is good for the price. I'd use that until you can save up for better equipment.

As to whether overhead is better than UTH, it all depends on the specific setup and the temperature of the room the snake is kept in. The goal is simply to provide the animal a place to warm itself. If you've already got the UTH, just get the thermostat and stick with that.

I have the hydrofarm thermostats and they work pretty good.Ive had them for a few years with no problems..But they dont compare to the herpstat(Ilove love love my herpstat).
Ive used dimmers as well..The problem with dimmers is you have to stay on top of the temps constantly, if they get bumped it can be disastrous.

Have a look at the photos on this thread (graphic): https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...highlight=burn
Granted those burns were caused by a heat rock, but burns like this is the sort of thing you can expect by using any heat source without a tstat. There are things you can save on with snake, like hides, water bowls, using paper for bedding, but tstats are NOT one of them.