I think you have the thermostat and thermometer confused. Thermometer measures temps. Thermostats, like the one for your house air conditioning, controls the temp. Without a thermostat, those heat pads or lamps will get hot and cook your pet. For example, a heat pad can have temps over 99F if a thermostat does not control it at a safe temp of around 90-93F. You can pick up a thermostat on Amazon for about $35-45 and a digital thermometer at most pet stores (Temp guns are available on Amazon too).
Humid hides are not only for shedding purposes. In the wild, these lizards would spend a lot of time during the hot days hiding in between rocks or small burrows where it is cooler (Hence I don't go hotter than 90F on my UTH but many owners go up to 95F, which is fine too. Fortunately lizards are not like snakes and know when to move away and they are hardy as heck) and humid. My leo would use it almost all the time. I think it provides some stimulation for them too. Also, your gecko can decide for himself when he needs the humidity for shedding or not, instead of raising the entire tank's humidity which is not good for them.
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