You can get anything from £1.50p mechanical timers out of places like ikea, to £5 jobs out of places like wilkinsons or BnQ and a bit more reliable.... all the way through to wifi controlled sockets.

You dont need a "reptile" one... just any old socket timer.
I have some WeMo wifi socket timers, means i can update and change from my phone and also check from outside the house and stuff.
But anything will do really.

Only advice, get it before you go away, leave it on for a week and just check it works ok, some of the cheaper ones you can get (like the ikea ones that came in pairs fora few quid) have a habit of jamming.

 

I think I'll try and get one that is most reliable for the money, so maybe a wifi one will suffice. And I'll do what you said and test it out just in-case. Thank you for the advice! :2thumb:

 

There is a point of note here, timers are VERY useful but there is a great deal of variance when it comes to quality.

This is especially the case with mechanical timers, which most of us use.

However, cheaper versions can allow through or create power surges as the contact plates snap together. This can and does cause a sudden surge in cases which can fry a lamp.

It is always better, and cheaper in the longrun, while protecting the needs of you pet to buy a trusted brand and especially those that have surge protection built in,

These cheaper timers will work, no problem at all! but its the flow of energy and its deliver that you cannot see or easily measure that can become an issue.

John,

 

To be perfectly honest, I know you say the other reptile controllers are expensive, they can be but they are fantastic, I used to do the exact same as you and also used some cheap timers as well I bought on eBay.

I was always worried they wouldn't work or most importantly control the light temp correctly, as you would need three timers if you plan on having a night temp basking heat source as well as your daytime and UVB bulb.

I had three timers at one point, one for the basking bulb, one for the night time heat source, and one for the UVB bulb, and one day the one for the UVB stopped working (wouldn't turn anymore) I got fed up and decided to pay for a Micro climate Prime controller, and OMG I have never looked back it controls everything does any kind of times and temperatures you need it to do, it can control more if I needed it too like foggers or misting machines etc and it all plugs into this one device and you can even use your laptop/computer to set it all up.

Also don't forget if your electricity goes off timers will obviously stop working therefore when they come back on the times will change, and could mess your animals cycle up, where as the prime has a built in memory and once it goes back on it remembers what it was programmed to do and corrects the time it's been off for all itself.

Just saying if you can get one, get one you will prefer it to timers any day, well worth the money.

However if you really can't afford it then a timer should do you fine especially for how long you'll be away.

Cheers
Brett

 

All I want to add is I bought my two from Amazon for around £10 each, weeks later, casually walking around a local store (In particular where I live, it was either B&M's or Home Bargains), the exact same identical timer on the shelf that I paid £10 for on Amazon, was just £2 in this store.

If you live in the UK, you will have one of these type of store close to you I'd imagine. Go take a look before you buy online