thermostat question and more!

[francojs]

hello everyone, new to the forum, new to snakes, looking into getting a ball python for my 7 year old son and me

been watching a lot of videos about caring for your python, i tried to avoid video made from petshops.

there is a few things that are not clear, to me anyways..

1-the thermostat, do you guys have a place to order online that ship to canada, i dont seem to be able to find anything on amazon

2-the thermostat again, how does it know the temperature that you heat pad is on?? i mean, it ok to put it a 89 on the thermostats, but does the thermostat really know if the heat pad is heating at exactly 89 it is just hook up to it with a power plug! does the thermostat know if you are using a 4w, 8 or 16w heat pad??

3- if i cannot find a thermostat, depending on the answers for the question number 2, aint a dimmer would do the same thing considering i am monitoring the temperature inside the tank?

4- i plan on using no substrate (newspaper), i have no idea if the heat pad will be too powerfull or just right, can i use it without remove the film on it at the begining? so i can readjust it later?

5-without a dimmer/thermostats there is no other way to use the heat pad without substrate, right?

5-sexing, i am buying from a local breeder, it is not a business, he is saying it is a female, is there any special way to trick him (not in a mean way, but just to make sure he is proffesional) to find out if he knows what he is doing?

Francois

[Eric Alan]

1-the thermostat, do you guys have a place to order online that ship to canada, i dont seem to be able to find anything on amazon

Not sure how close these guys are to you, but I've heard great things about them: http://cornelsworld.com/product-category/thermostats/

2-the thermostat again, how does it know the temperature that you heat pad is on?? i mean, it ok to put it a 89 on the thermostats, but does the thermostat really know if the heat pad is heating at exactly 89 it is just hook up to it with a power plug! does the thermostat know if you are using a 4w, 8 or 16w heat pad??

In addition to the plug you mention, there's a temperature probe coming out from the thermostat that you secure directly to the heating pad. It tells the thermostat how much power to give to the heating pad based on the temperature it's reading and the temperature you have it set to.

3- if i cannot find a thermostat, depending on the answers for the question number 2, aint a dimmer would do the same thing considering i am monitoring the temperature inside the tank?

A dimmer is a decent temporary solution. A thermostat is the better option for two reasons: 1) more reliable (will adjust to changing temps in the room), and 2) more safe: (good ones will turn themselves off if something goes wrong).

4- i plan on using no substrate (newspaper), i have no idea if the heat pad will be too powerfull or just right, can i use it without remove the film on it at the begining? so i can readjust it later?

This will be a non-issue when using it with a thermostat.

5-without a dimmer/thermostats there is no other way to use the heat pad without substrate, right?

Even with substrate, there is no other way to control the temperature of a heating pad. Snakes like to move stuff around, so eventually they'll end up on the floor of the enclosure anyway - substrate or not.

5-sexing, i am buying from a local breeder, it is not a business, he is saying it is a female, is there any special way to trick him (not in a mean way, but just to make sure he is proffesional) to find out if he knows what he is doing?

There's no reason to trick him. He's likely someone you want to have a good relationship with if he's worth his salt as a breeder. Just ask him, assuming you're getting the snake in person, to sex the snake for you when you pick her up. Do your homework before-hand to know the difference in what a male looks like and what a female looks like when popped (popped = inverting their sex organs).

Best of luck to ya!

[francojs]

i think i found something

https://www.amazon.ca/Inkbird-Pre-Wi...ywords=inkbird

that is what i want right?

[francojs]

im sorry i cant find a way to edit my post,

i ordered this one

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

thank you very much for the answer Eric, there is plenty of thermostats on amazon, it is just that thermostat has more then 1 meaning

i didnt know the thermostats had a probe, so i put the probe between the heat mat and the glass?? on the edge or right in the middle?

Francois

[Eric Alan]

im sorry i cant find a way to edit my post,

i ordered this one

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

thank you very much for the answer Eric, there is plenty of thermostats on amazon, it is just that thermostat has more then 1 meaning

i didnt know the thermostats had a probe, so i put the probe between the heat mat and the glass?? on the edge or right in the middle?

Francois

That's a pretty commonly used entry level thermostat around here. Nice job.

What other meaning does thermostat have? As far as I know it only refers to a device that senses temperature in order to keep it at a set point. There are many different uses for thermostats, but as far as I know only one definition.

Yes - that's exactly correct on placement. Most often I see the probe towards the middle, but I doubt it matters as long as the entire probe tip is in contact with the pad. The pad should be heating pretty evenly over the whole surface.

As far as editing posts, as you learned there's a 10 minute window in order to do so. After that, you're committed to whatever has been posted.

[francojs]

awesome thank you so much!

ok ok ok ok last question hahaha

heating differencial value they call it, it came by default 4 degre F(2 degre celsius), i am guessing it is too much?

[treaux]

Ideally, it's best to get a proportional thermostat like a Herpstat or Vivarium Electronics. These control the power level to your heat pad relative to the temperature of the probe. They also cost a bit more, but contain more safety features and take less work to get the temps right.

I do use some on/off thermostats along with dimmers for my quarantine tubs however. I have that Inkbird tstat and it works very well. Then I also use a lamp dimmer so that when the pad is on, it is not getting full power and quickly getting too hot before the tstat shuts it down. I like to start out with the pad turned all the way up, then slow lower it until you find the tstat is not turning it off and on so much, ideally finding the point where the pad just sits at the temp you want and the thermostat is just there to make sure it doesn't get too hot if the room temp changes.

In all though, buying the on/off thermostat ($40) and rheostat ($18) already has you up to $58. The Herpstat intro is $100 and will provide better temp control and safety measures (the on/off tstats have a tendency to fail in the on position, risking burns to your snake).

Keep in mind you will also need a thermometer (or ideally an infrared temp gun) to monitor the actual temps you are getting inside the cage. The thermostat/dimmer only controls the temp of the heat pad itself. You need to read the temp of the glass inside the cage and adjust accordingly.

Oh, and as far as the threshold goes, 2 or 4 degrees are fine either way. The glass will hold the heat enough to regulate it.

Hope this helps.

[Eric Alan]

^^^This^^^

Couldn't have said it much better myself. Thanks!

[francojs]

thank you for the help again!