Ben- Most people who keep snakes do not use astro-turf and keeper urge against the use of it. It breeds disease.

For a temp gun, may keepers use this one from Reptile Basics: http://www.reptilebasics.com/412L-No...e-p-16288.html It's important to not have to keep buying the same item over and over and just go with what works from the start.

Many many people prefer Helix and Herpstat thermostats over any other brand. They are both amazing and do the job for you so you don't need to worry about your snake. Reptile Basics sells Helix, but if you're closer to the west coast then you might want to just order directly from the company: http://helixcontrols.com/

You can order a Herpstat from their website http://spyderrobotics.com/

For a thermometer, many people use the Acurite and you can it find it many places including Lowes, walmart, etc.

If choosing aspen as a substrate, just get quality aspen and you wont have the dust issues. I get triple milled from Harlan-Teklan.

As you can see, there are differences of opinion everywhere. There are also some bottom lines: Astro turf is bad for snakes. You need a thermostat, you need a device to measure ground temps, air temps and humidity. You need 2 enclosed hides that will seem small to you but fine for the snake. You need a source of heat (UTH, flex watt, or radiant heat panel).

Keep reading. Keep asking questions. Keep taking notes. There are 2 awesome books; one written by Kevin McCurley and the other by Dave and Tracy Barker and I recommend them both. Here's Kev's book http://www.newenglandreptile.com/book.html and here's the Barker's book http://www.vpi.com/pythons_of_the_world_vol_2_0

Keep asking.