Cheapest thermostat?

does anyone know what the accuracy of the PE temp gun is? Looks like a lot of the under 20 dollar ones are plus or minus 1.5-2 degrees, which I think is more than acceptable for general husbandry, but I was wondering how they compare to the PE that I own.

As far as lowest cost? I think the zilla thermostat they sell at the petstores works (this one here?). It costs around 35 dollars, is nothing fancy, and won't make a person with a shiny new snake think "maybe I don't need a thermostat at all..." Problems with it are what you might expect; it tends to crap out after a few months of use, which is to be expected for buying the cheapest around. Reviews also say the dial isn't completely accurate and the temp you set will be higher or lower than what you get, so double checking temps is a must. Better than nothing, not as good as more expensive thermostats.

And for cheapest temp gun, I use a simple nat geo one that is also sold at the petstores (couple different brands depending where you go, 20-25 dollars on average). These are also considered "cheap" when compared to the fancy ones for sale at lowes that cost around 75 dollars each, but I would say that's only because it doesn't have all the bells and whistles (it tells you the surface temp in C or F, that's it). There aren't any specialty reptile shops near me, so big name pet stores have to do.

It's not as cheap as the hydrofarm tstat, and I don't have any experience with it but I plan to order one pretty soon, the hobbystat from reptile basics is only $54 and that definitely seems more appealing to the general public that only have one snake

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Originally Posted by MarkS

Well, if you're really looking for the least expensive way to regulate heat I need to put in a plug for the good old fashioned rheostat. MUCH cheaper than any thermostat. Sure it is not as effective and requires more vigilant monitoring of temperatures but it does work and will keep people from burning their snakes when using an unregulated heat source.

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I don't think I am going to put that on the average person either, but no doubt cheap and readily available at any hardware store. I have done that in a pinch waiting for a thermostat to come in the mail.... ever think you had an extra thermostat and found out you didn't?

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Originally Posted by Sammiebob

It's not as cheap as the hydrofarm tstat, and I don't have any experience with it but I plan to order one pretty soon, the hobbystat from reptile basics is only $54 and that definitely seems more appealing to the general public that only have one snake

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I actually don't see anything that would make me order it over the hydrofarm one, on/off, no mechanical safety, no features (however you can buy night drop for $25 more bucks), not even a display. What do you see in it?

Actually I've still got several rheostats that I'm using on older racks where I have colubrids. I'm betting that they're over 15 years old and still work well. I do like using something a little more stable for the pythons, but I've used rheostats for them too.

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Originally Posted by Daigga

As far as lowest cost? I think the zilla thermostat they sell at the petstores works (this one here?). It costs around 35 dollars, is nothing fancy, and won't make a person with a shiny new snake think "maybe I don't need a thermostat at all..." Problems with it are what you might expect; it tends to crap out after a few months of use, which is to be expected for buying the cheapest around. Reviews also say the dial isn't completely accurate and the temp you set will be higher or lower than what you get, so double checking temps is a must. Better than nothing, not as good as more expensive thermostats.

And for cheapest temp gun, I use a simple nat geo one that is also sold at the petstores (couple different brands depending where you go, 20-25 dollars on average). These are also considered "cheap" when compared to the fancy ones for sale at lowes that cost around 75 dollars each, but I would say that's only because it doesn't have all the bells and whistles (it tells you the surface temp in C or F, that's it). There aren't any specialty reptile shops near me, so big name pet stores have to do.

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Kinda funny, I completely forgot I actually had one of those thermostats that came with an incubator. Yeah they are terribly inaccurate (9 degrees inaccurate...), but it did hatch eggs for me one year. but at 35 bucks the hydrofarm is still less expensive.

There has been so much talk on the forums lately about regulating heat that I decided to make up a post on how I put together a rheostat for temperature regulation. You can find it in the DIY forum here. -> http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...95#post2311495

I hope somebody finds it useful, it actually took me longer to put together the post then it took me to build the device. :D

Someone on here recommended the jump start heat pad to me. I think it's for plants but it keeps my temps between 88 and 92. I have an ir gun and checked every 5 mins at first but it's always been good. So far. It was like 35 bucks online I think.

Not heat pad. Heat pad thermostat I meant

Good point about the Johnson it has to be hard wired, not something the average buyer would want to do. MarkS bring up a good point. Before my Johnson I used only rheostats that I got from home depot. I stayed on top of the temp measurements...but it was a pain in the butt.