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.

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Originally Posted by Floppysnake

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?

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

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

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i second the Jumpstart thermostats: i used them for two years before switching to Herpstats. HOWEVER they CAN fail and the probability of failure increases over time. you should consider the Jumpstart thermostat as a TEMPORARY solution until you can save up for a Herpstat. the Herpstat will not fail open (on), will last you practically forever and you will not regret it. please trust our recommendations for a Herpstat.

Don't even try a rheostat for a uth. I tried going that cheap route and even at the lowest setting my uth was still about 100 degrees. After looking at reviews I went with a Century digital from Amazon. It's only been a month but it's working so far. Now I use the rheostat on the daytime lamp to dial in ambient temp.

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Which herpstat is best? I have my uth unplugged. I also have a ceramic on one side and a red bulb on the other? I'm confused if I need it for heat lamps?

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Originally Posted by Sunnieskys

Which herpstat is best? I have my uth unplugged. I also have a ceramic on one side and a red bulb on the other? I'm confused if I need it for heat lamps?

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they're all wonderful but for one setup i would recommend the Intro+ (i have two) over the regular Intro because the Intro+ comes with all the safety features of the higher-end Herpstats.

for a CHE i use a dimmer/rheostat but you just have to monitor the ambient temp during peak sunlight in the room, or at least i have to as my snake room is on the southwest side of the house (the side that gets the most sun) and the temp can spike like 8°. a dimmer/rheostat works best in a room that has a stable temperature. i don't use bulbs so can't help there unfortunately but i'm sure they work the same as a CHE.

If you provide a hot spot with a uth it is madatory, simply do a search on the forum on burns there are still some every year because people either do not have a t-stat or have a cheap one that fails within a year or two and wide open.

A reliable one will run about $100 it might look like a lot but I have some that have been running for over 10 years now so it is not that expensive and it is definitely a lot cheaper then a burn and fire hazard

If you keep your room in the mid 80's and do not provide a hot spot you will not need one unless you use a oil filled heater (obviously not worth it when you only keep 1 snake)

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Thanks guys! I will get one. If it's something very important, I'd rather spend money now then later on vet bills.

If you use a UTH definitely get a dimmer or a thermostat, some can get up to 115F depending on their wattage and size. Some even higher


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Originally Posted by Floppysnake

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?

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With all the stickies and all the threads on all the various forums, why is this even a question?

You say you "noticed"? You might need to "notice" some of the stickies and get educated before bringing that BP home. And if you already have, for the love all the gods, get a thermostat. And then read all the stickies.

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Originally Posted by SiXandSeven8ths

With all the stickies and all the threads on all the various forums, why is this even a question?

You say you "noticed"? You might need to "notice" some of the stickies and get educated before bringing that BP home. And if you already have, for the love all the gods, get a thermostat. And then read all the stickies.

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Please be patient with the OP, he/she is young. I myself do my best to maintain at least up until a person who has owned one snake for five minutes starts to argue with me. I would rather have the OP question rather than just believing random people on the Internet. The OP does not know us and we could be anyone spouting made up information. Until someone begins to understand how boards work, it is hard to know who to listen to. After awhile you learn to understand who's information holds value and who's does not. This is an acquired skill.

Ok I'm sorry it was just a question. I have been watching care videos and none of them mention thermostats much, thou I'm sure they're using them. I didn't know if there were any mats that were good and stayed at a good temp. Yes I've been reading the stickies too.

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Originally Posted by Floppysnake

Ok I'm sorry it was just a question. I have been watching care videos and none of them mention thermostats much, thou I'm sure they're using them. I didn't know if there were any mats that were good and stayed at a good temp. Yes I've been reading the stickies too.

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Absolutely nothing wrong in asking questions. The good thing about this site is that boards are collaborative and the board rules cancel out agendas. We monitor each other. This is hands down the best resource I know of for anything ball python related. The care sheets are good. The setup stickies are good. There are decades of knowledge here. Trust that if someone has a lot of those little green squares by their name there is a very good chance they know what they are talking about and if someone gives bad information they will be called on it by another board member. Those that give bad information or have attitude problems don't last here.

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Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan

Please be patient with the OP, he/she is young. I myself do my best to maintain at least up until a person who has owned one snake for five minutes starts to argue with me. I would rather have the OP question rather than just believing random people on the Internet. The OP does not know us and we could be anyone spouting made up information. Until someone begins to understand how boards work, it is hard to know who to listen to. After awhile you learn to understand who's information holds value and who's does not. This is an acquired skill.

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Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan

Absolutely nothing wrong in asking questions. The good thing about this site is that boards are collaborative and the board rules cancel out agendas. We monitor each other. This is hands down the best resource I know of for anything ball python related. The care sheets are good. The setup stickies are good. There are decades of knowledge here. Trust that if someone has a lot of those little green squares by their name there is a very good chance they know what they are talking about and if someone gives bad information they will be called on it by another board member. Those that give bad information or have attitude problems don't last here.

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As usual, very well said sir.

To the OP, feel free to ask all the questions you need to ask. We were ALL new once upon a time. We are here to help. Like Jodan said, you'll learn who to take advice from and who to ignore, and looking for the green boxes is a great way to learn who to take advice from. That being said, there are some very knowledgeable people on here who don't post all that often, so their rep (the green boxes) doesn't build that quickly, but you'll learn who they are too.

Anyway, OP, keep studying and researching and feel free to ask about anything you're unsure of. As long as you're willing to learn you'll always get plenty of help on this forum from some great people with tons of knowledge acquired through years and years of experience with thousands upon thousands of snakes.