So I finally made it

When I was a kid, my father had a BP. Was a fun hobby, great snake, etc. Unfortunately, he served in the USAF and we moved alot. We ended up getting transferred to Alaska, and had to drive it. This meant 2 weeks in a vehicle. Fearing that the snake may not be able to make it due to temp fluctuations, hotel policies, etc... my father decided to give it to a friend of his who was also a hobbyist.

Anyhow, I finally have the means to support this hobby I have been wanting to get into again for a long time, just wasn't able to financially care for something that would be dependent on me for food, shelter, vet bills, etc. I didn't think it would be fair to any creature, to not be able to provide 100% for it.

So I am out of college, work for the govt as a Windows system admin, so... I can finally afford to take care of one now I am working on getting a habitat setup to house one, getting the temps right, etc before purchasing one. Would rather get it all setup before ordering one (I plan on ordering one from a breeder rather than petshop. Garrick over at royalconstrictordesigns.com has some good deals, as with some other recommendations), so it has a nice home to come to instead me throwing things together all at once, desperately trying to regulate the temp/humidity etc.

I do have a question:

1) I am a bit confused about the setting up of a home for a new BP. Not the requirements, but the technicalities of it. So you have an indoor/outdoor thermometer inside the tank. The thermometer itself goes inside on the cool side, and the probe goes under the substrate over the UTh area to monitor both sides of the temp. You also want a hygrometer to measure humidity in the tank. I am reading about people using a thermostat (Repti Temp 500R Thermostat). How does this hook up to a thermometer to control the temp? Does this control the UTH to control the temperature in the air? I am just a bit confused how all this is setup. I want to ensure I purchase the proper equipment that will work together the first try. Do you also use a UTH and a heat lamp?

2) Anyone know of a BP breeder in the East TN area (N GA, W NC, Kentucky, etc)? Just trying to explore my options


Thanks!
RT