My poor angel got burned

[O'Mathghamhna]

I took her to the vet within hours of discovering the burn--she is on antibiotics and pain meds, and I am treating the burn itself with SSD and clorhexidine flushes daily per the vet's recommendation.

I am posting for a few reasons--to remind folks that if they use heat lamps, to really monitor those temps, especially when whether fluctuates like it does in certain areas in the winter time. I live in Florida, and it's nothing for us to go from freezing temps to temps in the 70s within the same day, let alone the same week. I've had my sweet girl for 6 years now and she's never had problems with the heat lamp, but the other day she curled up on the hide on the warm side, which pushed her too close to the metal grate that the heat lamp is on the other side of. I noticed Friday night she had this bubble on her back (a burn), and I practically had a heart attack. The temps on the warm side INSIDE her tank don't get above 92, but when I used the thermal UV laser gun and measured the TOP of the metal grate (the side the lamp is over), the temps were a scorching 160 degrees. I couldn't sleep that night, and took her to the vet as soon as the vet got in (luckily only about 8 hours later, and I gave the snake metacam in the meantime and of course, adjusted the lamp). I want to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else's baby: make sure you are monitoring and adjusting their lamps as necessary if you use them. I didn't think this could happen to my snake, but it did happen. The lamp is was in an acceptable spot for a 37 degree day like today, but when it got up into the 70s a few days ago, the lamp was too close, and my snake suffered for it. She is expected to make a full recovery and the vet said it's definitely not the worst she's seen, and most people don't notice burns for weeks, so I'm thankful I at least discovered it that day, but I still feel just horrible and terribly ashamed.

Anyway, the other reason I am posting is I would like to do away with the lamp altogether. She does have a heating pad under the tank, of course regulated by a thermostat, and has never had belly burns (knock on wood). I have a 5' PVC enclosure in which she is housed, and I'm wondering with this kind of setup what you would recommend: RHP or Flexwatt? I worry about them permeating the thick layer of PVC. Do I need probes to check the heat they put out, or will my existing thermo/hygrometers be sufficient? Thanks in advance for any advice--and for any stories you have on dealing with burns. I have very thick skin and genuinely want the absolute best for my snake, so please don't worry about coming off abrasive---ANY advice/shaming is welcome (lol). Thanks in advance guys. Pics of my current setup below (note--the 66% you're seeing on the cool side is the humidity. The temp was at 73 because I had just opened the tank to refresh the water bowl, hidden behind the greenery in the front):