Quote Originally Posted by Wuattaguan View Post
I normally Use 2 analog Temp/Humidity meters, one on each side of the cage, they both read 50-60% humidity, but the cage temperatures vary as shown in my diagram ^

Buying a temp gun

A thermometer is NOT a thermoSTAT. A thermoSTAT controls the heat of the UTH. Think of it like your own home; if you turned on the heat with no thermostat, it would get hotter and hotter until you melted your face off. Now imagine you have to live in there, and your body doesn't let you sweat or control your inside temperatures, but rather it is the exact same as your surroundings.

That is your ball python. Mind you I went a little extreme there, but just to make a point.
You NEED a thermostat to control the UTH. You also should have a probed thermometer stuck to the bottom of the inside of the vive directly over top where the UTH is (UTH on the outside of course) to get an exact measurement of the hottest spot in which your snake can reach.

I can't stress this enough. Search "burnt ball python" on this forum or Google to see what can happen if you don't use a thermostat. Snakes don't always move when it is too hot.