Thinking about getting one ... What do I need?

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

I am afraid this is a case of you get what you pay for. I guess the hydrofarm is ok but the probes are terribly inaccurate I do instrument calibration in my work and I was asked to test 3 hydrofarms they all read differently buy one degree and one two degrees and the lowest one is is still too high by 1 degree. If you go that route make sure you have an accurate thermometer.

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I'm getting a Hydrofarm T-Stat(Should be here today or tomorrow) finally, and though I trust you that they do fluctuate, but the hotside temp requirements are 88-92*F, right? So if you set it at 90, it should fluctuate between those two temperatures, right?

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Originally Posted by fluffpuffgerbil

I'm getting a Hydrofarm T-Stat(Should be here today or tomorrow) finally, and though I trust you that they do fluctuate, but the hotside temp requirements are 88-92*F, right? So if you set it at 90, it should fluctuate between those two temperatures, right?

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Yeah that's what I was thinking myself. Even if it does fluctuate it's gotta be better then a dimmer right? I don't want to be a jerk and torture the snake, but lets get real, a $100 thermostat for a $50 snake just doesn't make sense to me.

When I got my full grown ball python I bought a 64 qrt sterilite it worked really well, and though she hasn't grown any I wanted to upgrade my baby's cage. I had originaly bought one of those 20gal long cages and to be honest I hate them. They are heavy and harder to clean. I ended up getting a 106 qrt sterilite for my big girl for like $12 (i paid $8 for the 64 qrt) if they are a little smaller like closer to a hatchling and you feel the 64 qrt is too big what you can do is pack it that way it has a tighter seeming smaller enclosure.

The one thing I hate about sterilite is the heating pads don't stick them that well but I fix that with electrical tape. This is good actually because

1. when I need to clean the tube I just take the heat pad off
2. if I need to transport my snakes I can just remove the heat pads empty the water and take with there whole enclosure with me. this I love because it seems less stressful for the snake and less stress on me. like when I go do like education shows its easier.

here is some pics of what I am talking about
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...debyside-1.jpg

my baby's enclosure. she is at about 2 1/4 feet right now
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ndynewhome.jpg

and my big girls enclosure, she is 3.5 feet right now
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...busnewhome.jpg

Most people here spent more than $50 on their snakes.. (more like $100+). No matter the price on the animal, you have to be willing to properly care for it. Look around and see if you can find a thermostat in your price range.

I only spent $20 on my snake, but I would be willing to buy a Herpstat at some point, but I had to get what I could for her in a day since the expo was the very next day. I only had $120 to spend for heat pad,hides,dimmer,waterdish, and something to control temps with. So I got a $18 dimmer for her. I was expecting to pay more for a BP, at least $25 for a normal male, but I liked the female's colours and size better so I went with a female. The prices were from $20-$40 for the normals(male or female, average was $25 for male, $30 for female) but this one was my favourite and happened to be the $20 one.
Anyway, for the first several days I had her, I kept her tub (I use a 16q/15L sterilite for her) on my computer desk so I could keep constant watch on her temps. They still fluctuate and get a little too cold at night, but they're a little more stable now and she's in my room now.
I still check on her temps a bunch though. I can rest a little better once my thermostat comes, hopefully tomorrow.(Her hotside was just at 93.9*F when I went to put her back in her cage!) Dimmers I suppose are fine temporarily, but Thermostats I'm sure are just so much more reliable from what I've read on here.

I appreciate all of the help so far, but I seem to be having trouble finding a ball python now lol. I am near Panama City in Norther Florida. They have 2 pet shops in the immediate area and they are trying to charge $80 for them. How can I find breeders or another place to buy them besides PetShart? I have been looking online and have had no luck unless I want to take a 3 hour drive ... What do you guys suggest? I've seen a few companies that sell them online but it's a little steep. If I went with an online vendor, who would you recommend? I would appreciate any help.

Speaking for myself, the cost of the animal is not relevant, you agree to take on the responsibility to care to the best of your ability for it or don't get it in the first place. This is my moral compass not yours I see what you are saying but if the animal is 10$ or 10 000$ the conditions it is kept under stay the same, as close to ideal as you can manage.

that said the equipment you use to get to ideal is not relevant getting there is. This threads sprite is about what will make that easier and what will I need I have not though of. It is one of opinions from people whom understand what is available.

My professional job deals with sensitive equipment and part of that job it to calibrate them and make sure they work reliably. I do a lot of testing to find the right gear for my work place and to find and solve design flaws before they cause problems.

I started to do consulting doing exactly this. i have been hired (and agreed not to relay any details of whom what or why) to test hydrofarm thermostats for use as a single component. Tests are still continuing but the relevant tests are mostly done. I can explain some of my results.

The accuracy of the probe is very poor.
http://images15.fotki.com/v230/photo...CA_9509-vi.jpgHosted on Fotki

This is a photo to show what I mean this is after 10 hours in stable room temps. the control thermometer (silver) is a traceable thermocouple type and is spec'd at 0.1ºC error it is re-checked yearly.

26.9ºC is 80.42ºF this is the correct temperature. the hydrofarms reading 81.6ºF, 82.4ºF and 83.8ºF is not very accurate these are the 'new and improved accuracy' version and came as samples from the supplier.

the next part is to check the probe response. The hydrofarms (all) were set to 85ºF and then the probe was cooled and heated to check when the units came on and off. Started heating at 84.3ºF avg. and shut off at 86.7ºF not stellar but acceptable.

The units were then connected to a heater and probe placed directly on the heat the ambient room temp was set and stabilized at 60ºF and the units set point to 90ºF An accurate thermometer was connected to a data logger and the test ran for 24 hours. The average high temp was recorded at 113ºF for the total period and all 3 units. The average low was recorded as 85.7ºF This is a spike induced by tough conditions and slow probe response.

the test repeated at 70ºF ambient temps and the range reduced 107ºF max and 88ºF. The test repeated again at 80ºF and the range reduced again to, 99ºF and 87.8º.

I have tested a johnson (not as carefully as I was just curious) in a similar way the on off points were closer and the max and min temps recorded on the heat element were closer but it still was not great. this is a 'torture test' to find how bad bad is.

The advise I have based on this and my experience with other on off units is this.

Avoid direct heat (heater directly attached to enclosure) and or place the heater on something that is slow to heat and slow to cool (simply something that is heavy, weighs a lot.)

Avoid using the unit with great differences between the set point and ambient temps.

It would likely work really well with a rack where the heater is fastened to a shelf and the tub sits with a small air space between them (the 'rails' found on most tubs) and or in a regulated room. Used with a tank or like in a semi regulated room.

The use with the heater stuck on the bottom of a plastic rubbermaid tub or sterilite in regular room conditions (65ºF to 73ºF) it is possible to come close to replicating the results I got in my test and see spikes inside the enclosure. It is quite likely to stress the snake (guessing) and that result in failure to eat and possibly other health issues.

Quite some time ago I started testing one of my herpstats, The probe accuracy was very very good so close to mine that the error it has makes the test not worth reporting basically as accurate as I am capable of testing. The heating test gave a max and min less than a degree apart and I stopped there as there is no point it continuing. This is why I recommend a proportional units, I own herpstats (4 pros and a 2 and hd) but the others (ve ecozone, habistat) use similar technology so I'd expect the practical heat to be so close to make no difference. The differences is fit and finish, set up menus and extra features.

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Originally Posted by Orange Sunshine

I appreciate all of the help so far, but I seem to be having trouble finding a ball python now lol. I am near Panama City in Norther Florida. They have 2 pet shops in the immediate area and they are trying to charge $80 for them. How can I find breeders or another place to buy them besides PetShart? I have been looking online and have had no luck unless I want to take a 3 hour drive ... What do you guys suggest? I've seen a few companies that sell them online but it's a little steep. If I went with an online vendor, who would you recommend? I would appreciate any help.

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Have you tried craigslist under community, pets. in know a lot of the times I cand some going for good price from local breeders her in houston, might be worth a try.

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Originally Posted by crepers86

Have you tried craigslist under community, pets. in know a lot of the times I cand some going for good price from local breeders her in houston, might be worth a try.

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Yeah I checked it out, unfortunately I didn't see anything. I'm in a pretty remote part of Florida so I'm not surprised. I was hoping there was a classifieds website of some sort, but I'm not seeing much. Looks like it's down to an online vendor because I don't trust PetSmart. Can anyone please recommend some places I should check out? I don't want to put you guys on the spot, but if you know some places that you've dealt with or heard good things about I'm all ears. I don't know who to trust ...

@kitedemon, I appreciate the help. Now I'm not sure what to do though ... I can't afford to spend much over $50 for a temperature controller, so what would you recommend that I get? I was planning on the Hydrofarm, but now I'm not too sure after your post. I don't care if it's digital or pretty or whatever else, I just want it to work good. I'm almost reluctant to get a ball now ... I don't want to hurt it or neglect it, but I just can't swing $100+ on a thermostat right now. Would something like this be good? - http://www.petco.com/product/108340/...ure+controller