New to site and BP.. have some questions..

[BHReptiles]

http://www.amazon.com/R-Zilla-11403-...1471608&sr=1-4 - $22 for a thermostat
http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiT...1471878&sr=1-1 - $17 for a digital IR thermometer so you can measure temperatures on the top of the substrate, which is where your BP lives.

Total is less than $40 shipped to your door, which is much less than a regular visit to the vet, never mind one to treat a burn.

For $7 more dollars, I would get this thermostat instead of a dial rheostat. With the dial ones, you always have to adjust the dial in order to keep proper temps with a fluctuating ambient temp. With this thermostat ( http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...arm+thermostat ), you just have to set the temp (I usually set mine to 89) and it will keep a much better temperature.

As a newbie bp momma, I can tell ya... Listen to these guys... They know their stuff.

I've run across one thing with substrate however, I feel you should weigh in the humidity while picking an appropriate one. Aspen will suck the moisture out of the environment and make humidity control quite difficult. I live in the desert where of course, it's dry as heck and recently did a complete tank changeover in order to combat this problem. Seems to be helping but we shall see.

Quick ? Guys <and i wouldn't do this here but i think it will help the OP as well as he learns> I switched to reptibark, along with doing the foil/tape thing on the top and also covered the sides and back with that black squishy cloth like shelf liner. This morning, ambient humidity is showing 44%, but that is measured about 3 inches off the floor. At floor lvl it is at 73 <and dropping over time since the bark is brand new>. Which reading is more important? And how long can she take that high humidity without scale rot becoming even a remote possibility? My instinct tells me floor lvl as that is where my bouncing baby ball lives but am unsure enough to ask. Oh and that is on the cool side, I'm picking up another acurite with a probe this morning as my dumb arse accidentally grabbed one without the probe and that one will be hot side only. Safe to assume its actually higher on that side.

Take the bottom reading because that's where you're ball python is living. 73 is a little too high for everyday humidity. You just need it to be around 50% unless your ball python is in shed. The humidity will gradually fall so it shouldn't be a problem. Just realize that scale rot can be caused by too much dampness of your substrate. So if you're constantly misting and your substrate remains damp, then you can still get scale rot even if your humidity is on par.