Hello Everyone!

I have recently obtained my first ball python And her name is Rhea. I believe I am having some husbandry issues and need your opinion/help.

Everything is going great, minus my temps. Humidity sits around 50-60 percent. For heat I am using a UTH 10 gal and a general heat lamp with a red 100 watt bulb which hangs about 7" from the top of the tank. I use the bulb to just primarily give a little ambient temp, and closer and eats away the humidity.

Here is my problem, I have about an inch of substrate in any given spot in the tank, however the substrate temp records anywhere from 93 - 105 degrees. However 1 inch off of the substrate and I am sitting at 86 degrees in the vicinity of the UTH. Obviously the hide on the warm side is a little cooler than the outside ambient air, but what should I be trying to regulate?

Should I be placing the probe for my thermostat on the actual substrate to make sure it never gets hotter than 90 degrees? Or should I be moderating the temp right above the substrate? Here are my temps right now:

Cool End Ambient 1" from substrate- 76 degrees ambient
Mid Tank 6" from substrate - 82 degrees ambient
Warm End Substrate - 96 degrees
Warm End Ambient 1" from substrate - 86 degrees

Right now I have my thermostat prob 1 inch above the substrate, which is keeping things nice at 88 degrees. But I am worried that the belly heat is way to hot and that should be 88, while ambient would be cooler around 80 or so?

Please help! My snake will not eat and she is just a baby and has already lost 3 grams