To cold?

[hunter94]

If you can maintain 78-80 and 88-90 your fine.

Those are the temps i give and their fine. Having a mid 80s for cool side is just too high IMO. And 75 will NOT cause a RI if they have a warm spot of 88-90 to get to and stay warm.

Alright. Ty. =)

[snakesRkewl]

I never have my warm end over 90, thats too high for the warm end ambient temp IMO

75 is a bit cool but won't hurt a thing as mentioned, as long as the warm end is in the upper 80's and you have a hot spot your just fine.

[snakesRkewl]

Hope it's alright if I ask a question on the bottom of this.

My bp is in a 20L with a lamp on one side. I have two thermometers, one on each side.

I know, most people here will say I should use a UTH. Right now, I can't afford it, and normally get really great temps out of my setup. The last couple of weeks, the hot side has been 90-93 and cool side 80-82. Just recently, it has started raining and cooling off more in the afternoons and night, so the tank is getting a bit cool. The cool side is hitting almost as low as 75 degrees. I tried covering the screen to hold some heat in but it didn't really seem to work.
Short of converting to a uth and thermometer setup, what can I do to help warm it up a bit more? Maybe cover a larger area of the top? Or a lower wattage lamp on the cool side with a rheostat?

Ball pythons lay on the hot spot(belly heat) to help digest their meals.
A rheostat is worthless unless your room temp is fairly stable 24/7
ihome sells reptitemp 500R thermostats for 28 bucks shipped and The bean farm sells 11x12 flexwatt heat pads for 3.60 each.

For $10 more than a rheostat and a heat bulb you will have a thermostat and a UTH for your snake to enjoy

[Pip]

Ball pythons lay on the hot spot(belly heat) to help digest their meals.
A rheostat is worthless unless your room temp is fairly stable 24/7
ihome sells reptitemp 500R thermostats for 28 bucks shipped and The bean farm sells 11x12 flexwatt heat pads for 3.60 each.

For $10 more than a rheostat and a heat bulb you will have a thermostat and a UTH for your snake to enjoy

See, I don't like the 500R because it's not proportional... Which seems like it sort of defeats the purpose. Is an analog alright?

The flexwatt seems nice though. Is that the most recommended around here? I like the price too

Edit: I just read this on the flexwatt page:
"It is recommended that a rheostat, dimmer (use a dimmer intended for incandescent lights) or a proportional thermostat be used with this product. "

I take that to mean an on/off therm isn't an option?

[RichsBallPythons]

See, I don't like the 500R because it's not proportional... Which seems like it sort of defeats the purpose. Is an analog alright?

The flexwatt seems nice though. Is that the most recommended around here? I like the price too

Flexwatt is awesome and cant go wrong with it.

Proportional is not cheap. Ranco and Johnson t-stats are same mechanical as the 500r which is on/off. On/off is perfectly fine for racks. Incubators thats a whole different story.

[Pip]

Flexwatt is awesome and cant go wrong with it.

Proportional is not cheap. Ranco and Johnson t-stats are same mechanical as the 500r which is on/off. On/off is perfectly fine for racks. Incubators thats a whole different story.

Yeah, they're pretty pricey. I have a tank, not a rack setup. And I'm just a pet owner, not a breeder so I don't have incubators either xD

Just trying to give my little guy the best habitat he can have..... That I can afford

Above I added to my post with respect to info I found on Flexwatt that suggests you shouldn't (or can't?) use an on/ off therm with it. Am I misinterpreting?

[RichsBallPythons]

Yeah, they're pretty pricey. I have a tank, not a rack setup. And I'm just a pet owner, not a breeder so I don't have incubators either xD

Just trying to give my little guy the best habitat he can have..... That I can afford

Above I added to my post with respect to info I found on Flexwatt that suggests you shouldn't (or can't?) use an on/ off therm with it. Am I misinterpreting?

You can use on/off with flexwatt as long as you stay within the t-stats rated power. Most are 500-1500 watts max load which is more than any rack or tank could pump out.

[snakesRkewl]

unless you have 108 bucks for a herpstat you wont get a proportional, and, you dont NEED a proportional t-stat.
A rheostat is something I would never use, if your room temp goes up 7 degrees, so does your heat pad.

I have 3 reptitemps in use for over 2 years, no problems.
I also have a johnson controls a419 that is ok, but the herpstat is a joy, I have one on my incubator.

[Pip]

unless you have 108 bucks for a herpstat you wont get a proportional, and, you dont NEED a proportional t-stat.
A rheostat is something I would never use, if your room temp goes up 7 degrees, so does your heat pad.

I have 3 reptitemps in use for over 2 years, no problems.
I also have a johnson controls a419 that is ok, but the herpstat is a joy, I have one on my incubator.

Sweet Thanks so muchfor your responses guys.

So I think I'll go with flexwatt + 500R until I can afford a proportional therm.
Things are a tad too variable, and I want to be able to dial my temps in for my little buddy.

[55Ballin]

So I think I'll go with flexwatt + 500R until I can afford a proportional therm.
Things are a tad too variable, and I want to be able to dial my temps in for my little buddy.

Just got my 500R the day before yesterday. It took some tinkering to get the temps to level out but it has maintained a solid 91.5 degrees for 2 days now with no more than a 1 degree difference up or down. It really is a decent piece for the price.