Heat source

[Skittles1101]

Amazon.com has them, try googling ceramic heat emitters, a bunch of other reptile stores and pet stores should come up. I've never bought any of them online so I can't recommend a specific website or company.

@pigfat, if you're sure those are your temps then it won't burn him, and as long as he can't physically touch the bulb then I wouldn't be too worried.

[kitedemon]

Lgrey23 has great advise. I'll just add a little bit of my experience with cool room keeping to the mix. plastic tubs are not good at holding heat they basically will have cool end and ambient temps the same or very close to the room they are in. There is no insulation value to start with and the options to heat the cool end are limited as emitters and lights are out of the question. That leaves a second uth and thermostat and then there is still ambient air temps to deal with.

I'd stick with the tank. Personally I'd try to insulate the tank and add a secondary heat source. i like using fluorescent lights for that as there is little risk of burns and over heating as they don't become much warmer than mid 90's enough to heat the air up and cool end but not enough to cause trouble. It is going to sound stupid and is not intended to belittle you but people forget basics sometimes. Heat rises. The big trouble with tanks is the open top. one option is is to side turn it or cover the top with some insulation, leave a generous air space on either side to promote air flow.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...arium-Solution

[Inknsteel]

well i have a digital thermostat, it just doesn't have a probe so it's measuring the ambient temperature of the tank, and lets pretend my uth is at 110, which it could very well be at but i doubt it, but hypothetically speaking if it was at 110 my tank temperature is still only 75 so it looks like i'm going to have to get another heat source i.e. i'm thinkin the ceramic with the dimmer.

I think there's some misunderstanding between the definition of a thermostat and a thermometer...

A thermostat (like the 500R) will CONTROL the temperature of the UTH.
A thermometer is used used to MEASURE the temperature.

These are not a one-or-the-other deal. You should be running a thermoSTAT to control how hot the heat source gets, while running a thermoMETER to measure the temps you're getting.

If you are using an analog dial type thermometer, you're probably not getting accurate readings. Using a digital thermometer with a probe is my preferred method. You can put the probe under the hot side hide to measure the temps your snake is actually being exposed to. I use the Accu-rite indoor/outdoor thermometer with humidity. The probe goes on the hot side, the unit itself sits on the cool side to measure the cool side temps and humidity...

As for the thermoSTAT, I am in the other camp with the 500r. I have had mine for about 4 years and I have never had a problem with it. You do get what you pay for and with as cheap as it is, you don't get a digital readout and the temps can fluctuate within about a 5 degree range, but I find that to be acceptable for what it is... My tip for using and adjusting that thermostat is to make SMALL incremental adjustments when you're getting it set up. Let the temps stabilize for at least an hour after each adjustment before tweaking any more. Once you find the right spot on the dial, mark it with a sharpie or something so if you ever have to take it down and set it back up, you know GENERALLY where to set it and will only have to make minor adjustments from there.

[Inknsteel]

Not to be redundant or not trying to call anyone out, but these are the types of threads that confuse the newcomers to the hobby.

I probably should invest in a temperature gage with a probe to determine that much but to give a guestimate probably around 85

Never guess your temps. That I agree with. Yes, you should invest in either a digital thermoMETER with probe (or a temp gun) to measure the temps inside the hot hide...

I have the Repti500r and that has a probe but i don't get exact readings with that because the dial goes from yellow-red as you probably know

That is correct. The thermoSTAT has a probe that goes on the heat source. This probe will "measure" the temperatures to tell the thermostat when to turn on or off based on where you have the dial set.

Yea I use a repti500r to control my uth, other then throwing that out and obtaining a thermometer with a probe, what do you recommend I get now to help with the heat?

Again, this is not a one-or-the-other deal. A thermoMETER with a probe is NOT a replacement for a thermostat. I recommend using the thermostat you have now, but getting the thermometer you need to use in conjunction with the thermostat to make sure you know the temps you're getting so you can set the thermoSTAT accordingly.

Edit: I say return it! I hated mine and honestly they are unreliable in my eyes. There is no other way to adjust temps until you know what your temps currently are. Bottom line, you need to get a reliable digital thermostat or a temp gun.

Again, this is bad advice telling a newcomer to return the thermostat they already own to get a digital thermostat OR a temp gun. You need BOTH. You need a way to REGULATE and to MEASURE.

Sorry again for the redundant post, but I feel these things need to be clarified before the OP goes out and returns the thermostat in favor of a thermometer, then starts another thread when the temps are too high where he will be blasted for not having a thermostat...

[Skittles1101]

Again, this is bad advice telling a newcomer to return the thermostat they already own to get a digital thermostat OR a temp gun. You need BOTH. You need a way to REGULATE and to MEASURE.

I agree 100%, and thank you for pointing that out. I completely meant thermometer. I type so damn fast I don't catch typos like that too often. Woops

[Inknsteel]

I agree 100%, and thank you for pointing that out. I completely meant thermometer. I type so damn fast I don't catch typos like that too often. Woops

I figured... You typically give good and helpful advice, so I just wanted to clarify it for the OP...

[Salab10]

Ok everyone! thank you so much for all the helpful advice! I spent all day today obtaining all the goodies I needed. The only thing I couldn't find was the accu-rite thermometer with the probe which I'm really pissed about because both Lowes AND Home Depot said they both have it and when I went to each store neither of them had it. I even went to Target (although i didn't hold my breath on that one) and they didn't have it either. I think I'm just going to have to order it online which is annoying because I want it now. However, the positives of the day, I purchased a ceramic heat emitter which should start raising the temps in my tank AND i will be attaching a timer to it so that it is on for 12 hours a day and off for 12 hours at night. Thanks again everyone for the wonderful help.

[Inknsteel]

I got my Accu-rite from Walmart. They're stocked in the section with outdoor thermometers and stuff. They can be hard to find on the shelf sometimes, but I know my local Walmarts all carry them and always have them in stock...

[kitedemon]

Personally I am not much of a fan of them, they have the same accuracy as any other. You can use just about any one you can find. Personally I suggest to but 3-5 cheap thermometer with probes and check them against each other and only trust the ones that read the same. Knowing you temps is very important and thermometers can vary quite a lot.

Hygrometers can be easily tested (salt test for humidors) I like cheap analogue ones designed for humidors accurate and calibratable. Digital ones are nice to have but digital calibratable ones are more than the average price. This week I saw a calibratable analogue one on amazon for under 5¢ I don't know what shipping is but it might be worth a look. Digital ones are sensitive to dust dirt contaminates and probe wires being bent pinched or any physical abuse.