newbie snakes

[sickvenom]

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

Or get a thermostat and it will adjust temps automatically for you

+1

i wouldn't trust a dimmer.

[NennaMeerkat]

Dimmer has worked fine for me and my hoggie. Not sure why you wouldn't trust it...unless you are talking about an electrical malfunction and that could happen with anything.

[sickvenom]

i had an issue where the dimmer malfunctioned and the flexwatt got way too hot. now i only use thermostats that will turn off the flexwatt if the temps get too hot.

[NennaMeerkat]

Ah gotcha. Understandable I guess, but after one mishap I wouldn't write off using them completely. *shrugs* Like I said though it is understandable 100% considering the danger that could be posed to your snake.

[sickvenom]

Originally Posted by NennaMeerkat

Ah gotcha. Understandable I guess, but after one mishap I wouldn't write off using them completely. *shrugs* Like I said though it is understandable 100% considering the danger that could be posed to your snake.

you also need a stable ambient temperature in your house/room to use a dimmer. that doesn't happen here in phoenix.

[thomas1123]

ok well do you know how much the thermometer dimmer is and were to find one?

[sickvenom]

Originally Posted by thomas1123

ok well do you know how much the thermometer dimmer is and were to find one?

a thermostat (that's what you want, not a thermometer) and a dimmer switch are two different things.

you can buy a dimmer switch at any big box hardware store. a dimmer switch will let you adjust the constant output of a heat source, but you cannot regulate it to stay within a certain heat range.

you can buy thermostat from various only sources and you can buy the cheap ones at retail pet stores. thermostats will keep the heat in your enclose at a temperature which you set. because of this, they are more expensive than a dimmer switch, but i believe they are safer and more reliable if the air temps in your house aren't consistent. these seem to be the most popular: Spyder Robotics

[thomas1123]

ok well i looked at those thermostats and they are kind of expensive. how lonng do they last? are there any cheaper ones?

[sickvenom]

Originally Posted by thomas1123

ok well i looked at those thermostats and they are kind of expensive. how lonng do they last?

hard to tell. that's kinda like asking how long your snake will live. i know people who have been running the same thermostats for 10+ years.

Originally Posted by thomas1123

are there any cheaper ones?

of course there are, but you get what you pay for. as i mentioned before, you can get cheap ones from large retail pet stores.

[thomas1123]

ok thanks for the information. ill go by some stores and see what kind they have a other stuff like that. Do you have one of these thermostats? Which one of these would you recomend?

[sickvenom]

Originally Posted by thomas1123

ok thanks for the information. ill go by some stores and see what kind they have a other stuff like that. Do you have one of these thermostats? Which one of these would you recomend?

if i *had* to recommend one, it would probably be the zilla: Zilla Temperature Controllers at PETCO

i just read some of the other posts in this thread (didn't have time until now) and you have been given some good advise, and some advise i wouldn't necessarily follow.

first, your size of tank is HUGE for a hog. females get larger than males, so you could get 1 female or split the tank and get 2 males. never house 2 snakes together. because your tank is so big, make sure you have plenty of hides because snakes will get freaked out if they feel stuck out in the open.

make sure your hog has been feeding on f/t mice for at least a few months before you buy it. hogs eat lizards and toads in the wild, so they can be very hard to turn over to mice when they are first born. a lot of shady breeders will sell their neonates even if they aren't feeding, and just tell the buyer they are eating f/t pinkies. a good way around this is to only buy them after they are a few months old.

did you know hogs are venomous? they are.

they burrow, so you should be fine with the substrate you ended up with, just make sure there's a lot in there.

no high humidity requirements, as you've been told, so no need to mist unless shedding is problematic. if that's the case, only mist when in shed.

hogs have a very high metabolism rate. some will eat once a week even when adults. because of this, i like to keep mine in the upper 80s, instead of mid 80s. they don't really care about a cool down period at night, so that's up to you. some people just turn off their heat source at night at it maintains a high enough temp until morning.

hogs are one of the few breeds of snake that will successfully breed without a brumation period! i know you aren't breeding yours right now, but i thought i'd throw that in there for a fun fact.

hogs are GREAT first time snakes, as long as you pay attention to everything i just typed. the feeding thing is most important.

[thomas1123]

Thanks for a short summary of everthing and some new info i didn't know! lol i decided to buy a 10g tank for mine whenever i get him/her. but when it gets to be an adult i will probably move it into the 50g if i dont have another snake in it by then lol i know that they are venomous but isn't it only in their rear fangs and the only way to really get any affects of the venom is if they chew on the bitten place if i remember right. (correct me if im wrong). i have two hide and a water bowl in my tank with a fake plant. i'll check out the Zilla thermostat.
Thanks

[thomas1123]

i just looked at the themostat and what would be better 500 watt or 1000 watt?

[blindfireak40]

It depends on what you need it to control. The heating devices should be labeled based on their Wattages, if the sum of those wattages is less than 500, the 500 watt stat should be sufficient.

[Lankyrob]

We use HAbistat Pulse Proportional Thermostats, bet then we have Ceramioc heat bulbs in all our vivs. That stats cost about £70 and over here we can get the full ceramic set up for around £100.

As previously stated with a dimmer you have no control when the ambient temps change. Lets do an example:

You have ambient temps of 30f so set your dimmer quite high to get good tank temps, its been stable for weeks so you have no worries. You take a weekend away and there is a heatwave, ambient temps go up to 50f - your dimmer is still set high and there is risk of the snake being overheated.

Same scenario but with a thermostat, at 30f the stat keeps the temps high, at 50f the stat puts out less power and therefore less heat in the tank.

From what i have read it doesnt take too long at overly high temps for snakes to get issues and i would much rather put a bit extra cash in at the beginning of a set up to ensure the safety of the snake.