Quote Originally Posted by soy.lor.n View Post
If you say where you're from, you might well find a breeder right here on BPnet. That's what I did when I got my girl.
As for the hides/water bowl, what wasn't mentioned is that these can even be just plastic bowls, turned over and with a small hole cut out for the hides. You can also use a planter saucer with a part of the lip cut out, which can sometimes look a little nicer.
For under tank heating, you can also use a piece of heat tape from Reptile Basics instead of buying a UTH, so you can save a little money that way. If you buy a wire/clip/insulator set with it, and ask for it prewired, Rich will even do it for free, so all you have to do is plug it in. http://www.reptilebasics.com/Heating-p-1-c-248.html
If you know anything about wiring and soldering though, it seems to be pretty easy to do it yourself. You can do a google search for flexwatt wiring and find a DIY guide. You just need an extension cord, soldering iron setup, and some insulating tape.

The only big money item left is really the thermostat. You can get a herpstat for about 109 http://spyderrobotics.com/products/herpstat.html it's a proportional thermostat which is really nice and will probably be worth it in the long run. You can also get an on/off Ranco from reptile basics which won't keep quite as tight control on your temps. One other option is to get a rheostat (I got a lamp dimmer for $10 from home depot that you can just plug your heater into and it's got a little slider to control the heat). The dimmer only works well if you have pretty consistent temperatures, but it might be a viable short term option if you want to save up some $$ for the herpstat
So you've got
$5ish for the bowls
$0 for newspaper substrate
$20ish for heating
$10-100 for heat control
$15ish for a tub (not sure about that one)
$25-80 for a snake (good reason to not buy from PETCO- they're WAY expensive for what their snakes are worth)
The hides and the water bowl seem easy enough. As far as the heating goes, I'll probably just stick to a UTH and dimmer for now. I'll be around a lot, so I'll be able to constantly keep an eye on the snake and the heat, and eventually what I plan to do is (once I've learned a lot more and have more funds) move it to a nice tank that's decked out with the appropriate conditions. It just seems like a tub is the easier way to go for a beginner. And the heat tape and all sounds a bit complicated for my level right now.

Quote Originally Posted by Inknsteel View Post
I agree with most of what Starmom has said. I would like to add a couple of things though. If you have the tub in a room that maintains a constant temperature, you could get by with using a dimmer for the UTH at first. As long as you can maintain a stable external environment, the dimmer will keep the internal temps stable until you can save up to get a thermostat.

As far as where to get them, I know everyone in general will say to avoid Petco, but that's where I got mine. I would agree that MOST Petco and PetSmarts are crap, but there are some good ones out there. I would say to go look at their snakes and talk to the herp specialist (if they have one) at the store and get a feel for their knowledge. And ask questions, like when did they last feed, if they have fed. What are they feeding, f/t or live. The herp specialist at my local Petco is a member on this board and a friend of mine and I know that he does the best he can (within Petco's restrictions most of the time) for the animals while they are there....
Yeah, I'll be keeping the room it's in at a pretty steady temperature, so the heating shouldn't be an issue. Plus it'll be kept on the highest shelf on my bookshelf, about 5 feet off the ground, for all the tiny difference that makes.

Quote Originally Posted by soy.lor.n View Post
What part of Tennessee are you from? There are at least 2 breeders in/around Atlanta who are members of this board. Albey Scholl and Justin Kobylka both contacted me and are both definitely good guys.
http://www.jkobylkareptiles.com/
http://www.albeysreptiles.com/
I'm directly in Middle Tennessee, so Atlanta isn't painfully far away. I'm just worried about having a snake shipped, even if it isn't very far. Something about it is just unsettling. I'll check them out right now, though, and look around. Thanks.