Radiant Heat Panel or Ultratherm Heat pad?

I have a ball python in an AP T8 cage, and since its getting colder, the heat tape just isn't doing it for me. The "hot" side is only reaching 80(F)ish degrees on cold days, although the thermostat says 105 degress with the probe on the heat tape. I don't know if its the tape or my cheap thermostat, but im scrapping both. Gonna get a herpstat 2, but cant figure out what heat source i want.

From my understanding, the RHP goes inside the cage on the ceiling? What wattage would be best? My cage is 12 inches tall. I'm concerned that having a heat source inside the cage will burn my snake while he's exploring.

How is the heat pad compared to the tape? At this point i'm leaning more toward the RHP but i want to cover all my bases.

The problem could also be my house. My dad is an electricity-saving nut and absolutely refuses to turn on the heat unless its winter. As a result its very chilly in fall winter and spring months, so i was hoping the RHP could combat this problem.

Ceramic heat emitters and heat lamps are not really an option, as I dont want to cut holes in the top of my cage and I will be stacking another T8 on top of this one in a few months.

Thanks for your help!

From my experience, the Ultratherm pads run cooler than the THG heat tape. I have both and use them for different applications. On my T8, I have both THG heat tape underneath and radiant heat panels (one on either side as mine is divided).

I also don't run heat in my room with the T8 and it sometimes gets down into the 50s. I have two 40 watt RHPs that have to do a lot of work to keep it warm, but they do maintain temps quite well. Only problem is I have to turn the heat tape down in the winter because when the RHPs run at higher power, they overheat the floor where the heat tape is (even though the heat tape thermostat reads much lower (since it is sandwiched in between the tape and the bottom of the cage where AP routes the channel for it). I haven't gotten around to it, but I plan on removing the heat tape and offsetting my RHPs so that they provide a temp gradient and just using them. They are currently centered on each side, but if I move both towards the middle, they can be set for my hot side temp and the cooler side should just fall into place with the ambient air.

I haven't tried it myself to confirm, but as was recommended to me by Pro Products, for a cold room and a full T8, I would get an 80 watt panel and mount it on your hot side, then get a Herpstat and set it the panel to your hot side temp. If you are planning on getting more cages or expanding your collection, you may want to think about a Herpstat 4 (or even 6 now!).

Hope this helps!

thank you! i definitely won't be getting the heat pad then. I'm thinking of trying the 80 watt but I'd love to hear from more people who use them in their T8's

I have a RHP from Reptile Basics I use for my Green Tree Python, I just emailed the guy on the website and explained my setup and he recommended a size and wattage. Very knowledgeable. now it's hooked up to a basic thermostat and works amazing. Def check them out.