Aiming For Perfection-Requesting Assistance

[Havalian]

This is going to be a long post, but everything is for the benefit of my ball python, whom I have dubbed Pythagoras.

Hello everyone, I've decided it's time to upgrade everything about my snake's living conditions. I'm glad I found this community and have done a lot of looking around before making this first post. I have a fairly old ball python which has been mine since I was in middle school. I'm 24 now and the girl I got it from had owned it for several years previously. On it's (yes it, I'm not paying over $60 to know the sex of an animal I don't intend to breed) last visit to the vet in 2011 it weighed in at 1922 grams. It is not much bigger now. When I started this I was mainly concerned with humidity, but as I learned more and emailed and researched I quickly realized that I could do much more than I originally planned to. I am definitely still learning but I REALLY want to do this correctly, hence all of the questions. Some of which will likely sound downright stupid to people more knowledgeable than myself.

Here we go.

I am nearly positive I will be purchasing a 36''wideX12''highX24''deep cage from pvccages.com. I'll be making a separate thread to ask everyone what they think about their cages. Should I consider an 18'' high cage instead?
I plan to have an 80 watt RHP installed, which will be controlled by the Vivarium Electronics VE-200 thermostat. I do not plan to use the night drop capability. Are all heat panels created equal? I had planned on using the one which comes installed from PVC Cages.
I will have a hygrometer (recommendations please!) to monitor the humidity level inside the cage.
I plan to stick with cypress mulch as a substrate which I think I will have to mist daily but I'll need to see about that once I have my cage and can see how well it holds humidity.
I plan to have a fluorescent light fixture installed (awaiting details on size). Should I use a white light to help a little with heat if I need to? Will my snake appreciate white fluorescent light at all? I'm not sure what wavelengths a white fluorescent bulb illuminates. Should I get blue or red bulbs? Should I opt for a bulb which is designed to output UVA or UVB? I still can't figure for sure which my ball python needs more, if either.

That's essentially the meat of what I plan to get. Now I want to ask everybody:
What is the best way to set up the cage? Where should the thermostat probe go? Should I try for more than 2 hides? Should they be at opposite ends of the cage? How deep should the cypress mulch be? etc...
What am I missing? Either things that I need to make sure I have or that my snake would really appreciate me going the extra mile for?
How can I make sure I have the proper temperature gradient? Will that be possible with only an 80 watt radiant heat panel?
I guess basically I'm asking 'How do I make my snake the happiest snake anyone ever saw in a cage?'

Apologies for the novel everyone but as I said my snake's comfort/happiness are paramount and I want to do this right.

[KMG]

I have a cage from them with their rhp. I have no complaints, it has worked very well. I also have their light fixture. It also has worked fine. A ball does not need uv light and the white light is fine for a day light.

As for mounting the tstat probe I glue mine into a cable strap and then glue that to the rim of the rhp.


Cypress mulch is a great choice and if your not using a uth it can be as deep as you like.

For a terrestrial snake using a rhp alone the 12 inch cage would be best. The 18 inch should work as well but the rhp will have to work harder but you would have more room to work inside.

You can have more than two hides but at least should have one on each end.

If you make your snake happy you won't see it. A happy snake is a hiding snake.