heat

yeah i have a ball python about 18-20 inches in length an want to know if i use an 100 watt exo terra infrared heat lamp in a 20long will this be too hot also what can happen to my snakeif he get too hot.

You need a way to measure the temps so it won't get too hot.

where can i get something to measure heat

You can go to wal-mart and get an acurite digital thermometer. they're around $11 now. It has a humidity gauge on it, as well as a probe so you can measure hot side and cool side temps.

However, this will not shut off your heat lamp if things get too hot. For that, you'll need to get a thermostat which measures temps and sends power to the heat source as your temps drop.

check out Matts list of thermostats:

http://mgreptiles.com/thermomain.html