Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum. I just adopted my little Sammy on Saturday, August 25th. She is a cute little BP - about 2 months old (I'll post a pic when I figure out how to do it - hehe).

I currently have her in a Exo Terra Terrarium (18x18x18) which I soon found out was not ideal for creating the warm/cool environments they need. I am therefore setting up a new home for Sammy and I have a few questions.

I can get a 30 gallon aquarium from my future father in law (for free). The bottom is recessed so it could fit an under tank heater. I would need to get a screen/top for it. I found some interesting ones (e.g. EZ-Entry Hinged Screen Cover; Oasis Tera-Tops Flexible Screen Tank Covers). Anyone knows anything about them and if they are any good? I want something sturdy enough so she won't escape but I don't want something I need to remove completely everytime I want to see her or to change her water/clean her cage, etc (as that would mean I have to remove her heat lamps too!). Am I better off just buying a special snake cage with doors at the front? I am willing to spend the extra money if needed, I just want what's best for my little Sammy.

I also got a Repti-temp Rheostat only to find out when I got home that it didn't have a probe. Not sure how it works but I'm guessing it's not the best. I ended up finding the Zoo Med Reptitemp 500R Thermometer Sensor online. It has a probe and a thermometer so you can adjust the thermostat by temperature. Anyone knows if it's good? Anything better? Again, I want what's best for Sammy.

Finally, would I be good with the under tank heater and lamp at one end and nothing at the other or would I be best buying 2 under tank heaters and two thermostats to regulate both ends. The only problem with using that thermostat is, how do I make things cooler at night time? I wanted to do one end at 80F and one at 90F and use the heat lamp only during the daytime (at the 90F end to make it reach 90F) but if the thermostat adjust to keep the temperature at 80F/90F, the lamp won't be adding any additional heat during the daytime(?) So I am a little confused. How do you guys do it?

Thanks,
Melanie (AKA SammysMom)