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Would like opinions

dragonmoon

dragonmoon

New member
Ok been around the forums a few months now picking up what I can... my oldest daughter is really into snakes and my wife is now on board and we are going to get her a corn for her birthday in January.....
What id like is opinions on thermostats etc ....but on the lower end of the price scale ...... I know you get what you pay for but also know theres is lots of stuff out there for the people with lower budgets .... I'd just like peoples personal experiences with these products so I know which are worth buying and which are best to avoid ...
Thanks in advance
 
Here's a thermostat that some people use here and recommend it.
Here's another thermostat that a bit less people have used but they recommend it and say it works great
Here's a thermostat that i believe nobody has used but it has a digital readout and there is no reason that it won't work good :)

Basically anyone that you pick should work fine and there are more out there than just these 3 but these are the 3 that i know of. I am personally a fan of the digital readout :)

What else did you want an opinion on?
 
Nanci could help you the best here.

I have a repti 500 but...there are a lot better ones. It depends on the set up and $$ you want to spend.
 
just basic setups , some routes can be so expensive.....whilst others are cheaper but might not work... so was just looking for personal experiances .... i know we are gonna get her the critter cage with sliding lid (and lockable to prevent escapes.....
shes been into snakes for a few years now and it isnt going away like a phase so my wife finally agreed to help her interest instead of hinder it ... which works o ut for me also coz id love some king snakes :p
 
we are looking at the lower budget set ups , then when she has a couple of years and more experiance start putting more money into it :)
 
If the temps in the room where the snake is are fairly constant with a nighttime drop, then a simple dimmer switch would work fine for a year or two.
Some adjustment is necessary as the seasons change.
 
Well the best thing to do is search what you want in google (such as "ZooMed Heatmat") and it will tell you the cheapest place to buy it or you can just search something like "Under Tank Heat Mat" and it will tell you the the cheapest one. You really don't have to worry about a "cheap" heat mat because they are all made the same, there is only the one way of making it as far as i know, and you are going to have a thermostat hooked up to it, so just look for a cheap one online

IMO, Zilla is the best way to go when it comes to tanks and aspen can be found at Walmart or Tractor Supply Company or PetSmart (more spendy) or even places online but as long as it's pure aspen then you're safe no matter what the price. Hides can be made if you don't want to buy them as they can be spendy and can be made out of boxes or a washed out butter tub and vines can be found at a craft store or dollar store or online as well :)
 
thanks very much :) the rooms in this place arent really constant temps so i would need the thermostat regulating the heat , I was just worried after seeing the prices of some of them lol.....after reading on here i am thinking a slightly older corn not a hatchling as it would be more tolerant of handling etc and ... hopefully have a good few feedings under its belt :)... now how long would a 10 gallon tank be good for until having to upgrade in size?
 
Till the corn is about 1-1.5 yrs old depending on how fast they grow, you can just start with a 20L and just have a couple more hides. That will work too and save money in the long run
 
Going with a little older snake might be a better choice in your situation. Temperature changes affect them less and they have a record of feeding on a regular schedule.

I would say a snake up to 30" could be kept in a ten gallon aquarium. Just give it the necessary hides and maybe a shelve to increase "floor" space.
 
For a cheap thermostat I like the Alife from The Bean Farm. It looks identical to that one on Neeps. I do not like the current Big Apple thermostat- I have two, and the cause problems. (I had them running as the back-ups on a couple racks, and didn't like them so much that I removed them). I also don't like the ZooMed very much. I _love_ Herpstats, but they are $125.
 
I will be upgrading when I finish my new viv, but I have no complaints on the reptitemp 500R. I've had a 100 watt ceramic heater and a medium sized UTH plugged into it for over 2 1/2 years. I have wide temp swings in my condo, and it's performed flawlessly. When I get a new one, it will be proportional, while the 500R is an on/off type. Maybe not the best, but for $30 I won't complain.
BTW, I would say it's kept the tank +/- 1.5 degrees (3* swing max) with winter room temps at 63-66 and summer temps 80-90.
 
Haarstad said:
IMO, Zilla is the best way to go when it comes to tanks
Click to expand...
Keep in mind that Zilla tanks alone will be the most expense. I want to buy a 20+ long Zilla..that would cost me $60. So I went on craigslist and found me a 20L for $25...with a screen lid :)
dragonmoon said:
I was just worried after seeing the prices of some of them lol.....after reading on here i am thinking a slightly older corn not a hatchling as it would be more tolerant of handling etc and ... hopefully have a good few feedings under its belt :)... now how long would a 10 gallon tank be good for until having to upgrade in size?
Click to expand...
Don't worry. There are many options of thermostats. I am currently using a dimmer which is alright but after using it...I really want a digital. If you're going to use a 10gallon and only want to upgrade to 20L..you will need this heat pad. Cheapest one I have found: http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...and-rocks/-/zoo-med-10-to-20-gallon-heat-pad/
With the list below..I only spent $30 total on that site for the heat pad,
thermometer probe + shipping.
(Went to home depot for the dimmer..will be upgrading it around christmas.)

Here are all the things needed for heat sources.

Digital T-stat (recommended)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-Temperat...40825561653342

Dimmer (have to watch temps and get it set. Requires messing with)
http://www.homedepot.ca/webapp/wcs/s...k=P_PartNumber

Digital thermometer with probe
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...er-with-probe/

Digital thermometer (optional to observe cool side and humidity)
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/...umidity-guage/


dickdeuel said:
Going with a little older snake might be a better choice in your situation. Temperature changes affect them less and they have a record of feeding on a regular schedule.
Click to expand...

I bought a 4 month old corn snake...my friend wanted one too so it was $35. We split the price...making us pay $17.50 each. Besides that..this is my first snake and Tang eats great on F/T. If you can go and search ads in your local papers..I am sure you can find cheap deals for F/T corn snakes.
As of age. An older snake doesn't necessarily mean it will be gentle and easy to handle. It all comes down to how the person before you treated it and its personality. Choose wisely among many options of snakes when purchasing.

There is a lot of cheap ways to start out ;)
My total cost:
snake= $17
thermometer(probe) + heat pad + shipping= $30
dimmer= $10 (will switch)
20L tank= $25
aspen= $6
5 pinkie= $5 (to start off my corn)
Total: $93
Hides, branches, fake plants...hides can be made, branches can be sterilized, and fake plants can be bought at dollar stores for less than $2.
So set your limit to $100...leaving $7 towards any tax and if you want add few more mice ;) Good luck and keep us updated.
 
Skully23 said:
Keep in mind that Zilla tanks alone will be the most expense. I want to buy a 20+ long Zilla..that would cost me $60. So I went on craigslist and found me a 20L for $25...with a screen lid :)
Click to expand...

Zilla's are spendy but if you are looking to buy everything at a store like Petsmart and not online, it would be better to buy a zilla though. 20L tanks at a pet store are $40, lids are $15 and clips are $4 for a 2 pack and i would recommend 4. So unless you can find them on sale, zilla would be cheaper at petsmart or petco and the like. If you are going online then a non-zilla set up would be cheaper. If you can find used stuff, that would be cheaper yet. On Black Friday, PetSmart had 40 gal zilla cages for $69!!! I bought mine about a month before the sale but i brought my receipt in and got some money back! That was a good deal, too bad this post wasn't a little sooner lol
 
Haarstad said:
Zilla's are spendy but if you are looking to buy everything at a store like Petsmart and not online, it would be better to buy a zilla though. 20L tanks at a pet store are $40, lids are $15 and clips are $4 for a 2 pack and i would recommend 4. So unless you can find them on sale, zilla would be cheaper at petsmart or petco and the like. If you are going online then a non-zilla set up would be cheaper. If you can find used stuff, that would be cheaper yet. On Black Friday, PetSmart had 40 gal zilla cages for $69!!! I bought mine about a month before the sale but i brought my receipt in and got some money back! That was a good deal, too bad this post wasn't a little sooner lol
Click to expand...

I wanted that for christmas sooo bad. But she was like were not going there blah blah its not all about you were going shopping mainly for clothes blah your snakes dont need it yet blah blah blah. I do plan on getting one next year.
 
Haarstad said:
Zilla's are spendy but if you are looking to buy everything at a store like Petsmart and not online, it would be better to buy a zilla though. 20L tanks at a pet store are $40, lids are $15 and clips are $4 for a 2 pack and i would recommend 4. So unless you can find them on sale, zilla would be cheaper at petsmart or petco and the like. If you are going online then a non-zilla set up would be cheaper. If you can find used stuff, that would be cheaper yet.
Click to expand...

If you buy a 20L from a pet store..it should be only around $40(including lid). I have found mine to be the price of the size for some reason. 10 gallon= $13 and a 20L =$20-25...a screen lid is about $15. Zilla is still more costy.. Clips..I already had clips :p and that wouldn't make it close to a zilla..adding $8. You'd probably be saving $10-15 if you didn't go with a zilla tbh.

I'd just try to find a used one or check walmart. Petsmart is a horrible place to buy anything..considering I have seen too many high prices. Petco follows...I have a Pet Supplies Plus..and they are the cheapest pet store I have found.
 
I personally prefer Helix thermostats. They are reliable. My last thermostat was a cheap on and it failed.
 
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