Questions about heating???

Nope, it should be one that you can just plug a lamp into, it's only 10 bucks...not one that attches to the wall..they DO have it...check where the lamps are displayed. Thats where my store had them.

I found the dimmer but now I'm looking for and thermostat for the tank any suggestions. Home depot says they don't have anything that will work for me. Am I stuck buying the ones from the pet store???

Joker, they should have temperature guns, but they will not have a thermostat you are looking for....Tell them your looking for a gun that measures heat with a laser lol....literally..

What I would suggest is this. Get a digital thermostat for the heat mat. It has a probe that you attach to the heat mat, set the temperature you want the heat mat to run at, and the thermostat will do the rest. There are a few brands and styles to choose from depending on what kind of features that you want. You can get a good basic thermostat for around $25-$30.

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...1529683&sr=1-7

Another option to the temp gun is to get a digital thermometer with a probe. The probe goes under the bedding, on the glass, above the heat pad. Most pet shops have some type of these or I can provide links to online suppliers if you want them. Another thermometer that alot of us use is called the Acu-Rite Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer with Hygrometer. Depending on whether or not the stores have them in stock, you can find them at Wal-Mart in the Home Hardware section or at Lowes or Home Depot in the Outdoors section. It has a probe for measuring the warm side temp, plus it will tell you the ambient temp and humidity. They cost about $12-$15 and look like this:

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...8/hpim0473.jpg


If you decide to go with a thermostat, while you are waiting for it to arrive, I would suggest unplugging the heat mat, use the lamp for heat and adjust the lamp with the rheostat/dimmer.

Get a second hide, if possible, identical to the one that came with the kit. I don't think that the log hides are ideal, but they can work. There are all kinds of hides available commercially, or for about $5 you can get a soldering iron and a couple of $2 plastic bowls and make your own. Just make sure the hides are snug fitting.

There are a few other modifications that you can make to your tank to help with the snakes sense of security, humidity, etc. Here are a couple of links to threads which may give you some ideas:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...p-w-pics-*DUW*

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...tment-Tutorial

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-Instructions

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...0-Hides-my-way

For the record digital thermometers are not as accurate as the temp guns...that they sell at Home depot...and they only measure one spot..

What are your thoughts on this thermostat Zoo Med ReptiTemp 500R Remote Sensor Thermostat?
And a weird thing happened with the dimmer i bought. I have been playing with it and thought i had it almost at the sweet spot (a little less then half way up) and i bumped it up just a tiny bit and came back after a half and hour of so and the prob that i put on the glass above the heat mat said 107. Now after playing with it I'm back to almost at the right spot.

With greatly variating room temps a dimmer is not likely to work well you will still get wildly variable temps. All a dimmer does is cut the power to the unit so if you set it to 50% power and everything is correct with a room temp of 78º but then drops ten degrees over night the hot spot will also drop ten degrees. In that situation you need a thermostat there are many on the market but I'd say a ranco or johnson is the cheapest I'd call acceptable (avoid zoo med 500r) and personally if you can buy a proportional one like a Helix or Herpstat they are most $$ (around 110$) but are rock solid and will serve you if you have one snake or 21 snakes you will keep using it.

Welcome and yes heating can be a challenge, and everybody has different problems and situations you need to find a solution for your flavour. The P-T-stats are the most flex-able.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

For the record digital thermometers are not as accurate as the temp guns...that they sell at Home depot...and they only measure one spot..

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Actually, they are about the same a cheap digital ones, 2º up or down, check your specs. They also change depending on what they are pointed towards. A good, useful tool, but just different, not more accurate, that is a myth. Like all tools they have pros and cons and quirks IR guns more than most. The most accurate IR guns are still 1ºF up or down and impossibly expensive.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jokerfwb

And a weird thing happened with the dimmer i bought. I have been playing with it and thought i had it almost at the sweet spot (a little less then half way up) and i bumped it up just a tiny bit and came back after a half and hour of so and the prob that i put on the glass above the heat mat said 107. Now after playing with it I'm back to almost at the right spot.

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The dimmers do require frequent checking, I am using them on my QT snakes but I have a Helix on my collection and when you get to that point, a good t-stat is the way to go:gj:

The 500r is junk, save the 30$ and buy something better and use the rheostat for now.