Heating and Hide Painting

Heating:

Built a melamine home for my female and am having issues with the heating. Directly under the 50 watt bulb, the temperature floats around 96 degrees in the three foot wide enclosure. Does anyone find this excessive? I'm tempted to get a dimmer but the temperature throughout the rest of the enclosure is perfect.

Hides:

Read a tutorial on this sight on making "Realistic Hides" that involved using Krylon spray paint. Wal-Mart is the only place local to me that carries Krylon. I was told be the worker to use a latex paint to waterproof and paint the hide so it's safe for the snakes. Does anyone have any knowledge or advice on this matter?

Here is the original tutorial:
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...tic-quot-Hides