If you go that route, plug it into a dimmer switch and fiddle with it until the hot side temp stays pretty even. Someday later on you should invest in either an under tank heater for reptiles and a digital thermostat (helix, herpstat, etc) to control it, or some flexwatt which is fairly easy to wire to a cord and then plug into the thermostat.
Otherwise, run the heat bulb on a dimmer and always have a spare bulb in your cabinet on hand for when one goes out. A lot of members here do use dimmers for lamps because they are inexpensive and easily purchased at a hardware or home store.