NOTE : I DO NOT yet have the snake, I am waiting until habitat is perfect. I am currently still in the experiment phase. Here is what I have. It's a 40 gal tank with locking screen top (I made a custom divider so I can adjust space based on the size / stress level of the snake), I have various regular heat bulbs (from 60 - 100 watt "moonlight" also depending on size that tank is adjusted to), 1 ceramic heat bulb, a small UGH with thermostat, cypress mulch, multiple digital thermometers (two that also measure humidity). I do not have hides in the tank yet, since I don't know how big the snake will be (but I have several sizes laying around the house that would work), water bowls, fake plants, and branches to climb on.

1. I have a zoo med repti-therm under the tank heater AND a repti-temp 500 R thermostat to plug it into.
The questions: A.) Do I have to use foil tape to attach the thermostat between the glass and the pad, then use foil tape to hold the pad on, or is the adhesive backing from the pad itself enough to hold both?
B.) The thermostat probe is under the tank, so if the thermometer probe is in the tank, should it be directly on the glass under the substrate, or on the surface of the substrate?

2. I have 1 Ceramic Heat Emitter 'bulb' in a porcelain socket lamp.
The question: It is a 100 watt bulb, but depending on ambient temp in the room, is sometimes keeping the tank too warm, so is it safe to use with a dimmer switch?

3. I now realize that tanks can be hard to keep humidity up in, so if I start having a hard time with humidity, can I add a third hide (on the warm side) that always have moist sphagnum moss in it as an option for the snake - or will this cause health problems? My ambient humidity in the summer is between 55% and 68%, but I'm not sure about the winter when the heat is on...

*If I had known before purchasing the tank that most people don't recommend them, I would have saved up for one of the PVC types, but what's done is done, and I'm going to deal with it for now and work with what I have. In a year or so when I have all the habitat upkeep down to a science and the $$$, I probably will upgrade to an animal plastics type*

Sorry about the long text wall...