Quote Originally Posted by timely.grace View Post
You definitely should NOT wait until you get paid to buy a thermometer/thermostat. You should have had it set up in her enclosure before even purchasing her. Heat mats are well known for overheating WAY too much & burning snake bellies. Look up pictures, it's awful & quite costly if they get an infection or secondary issue because of it.
Easy to say, but I'm gonna defend the OP here. She was ignorant of a few of the necessities to snake keeping, as I'm sure many of us were at first. But seriously, if you don't have the money RIGHT NOW you don't have the money. Same reason I have to wait till I get paid to get my new beardie her UVB. I have to limp along with what I have in the meantime.

OP, I recommend putting something over the heating pad temporarily, while you can't get a thermostat. A large, flat rock or a piece of wood, or even a few pieces of thick cardboard. That is NOT a permanent fix, and I don't recommend it for more than a few days, but it is something. Vet bills for a burnt snake are much higher than the cost of a thermostat, but I understand not being able to do it right this minute. Just do what you can.