Night time heating

[The Serpent Merchant]

Should I use it with the UTH, or no? Would keeping the light on 24/7 all the time have a fire hazard?




I currently have 1 temperature gauge. (This one: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...8&lmdn=Heating ) It is positioned on the back glass on the warm side.
Should I get another one to put on the cool side, or should I buy a temp gun, or should I get one of those indoor/outdoor digital thermometers with the wire and probe thingy?







Also, should I get a dimmer for the light? and what thermostat should I buy? Needs to be cheap. Under $20.

I've run those red bulbs for a few months straight now with out any issue. Wether or not you need the UTH all depends on the temperature of the room and the humidity levels that you can keep. Heat bulbs suck the humidity out of the air. It also depends if you have the UTH regulated by a thermostat or not. If you do not I wouldn't use the UTH as it can and will give your snake severe burns.

The best way to check your temperatures is to get a indoor/outdoor digital thermometers with a probe. put the probe on the hot side and stick the thermometer itself on the cool side. Some even measure humidity as well. I got mine at Wall*Mart for $12. here is what it looks like:



Thermostats do not come cheap. The Cheapest ones I've seen are $40, and I think that they don't work well. A decent thermostat will run at least $70 and and good one will be $100 +. I use the Herpstat thermostats by Spyder Robotics. A dimmer would be good for your light. If you don't want to/ can't get a thermostat a heat lamp can be sufficient, as long as you get one with enough power. I would get the 75Watt version.