Hello all! My first post here so thanks in advance!

I've had snakes before (two corns, one ball) but they were years ago (as in, before I even graduated highschool)! My boyfriend recently bought me a new ball for my Birthday that was in June and now I'm having problems getting the lighting correct. We've already gone through three of our day bulbs (they keep burning out [or I am handling them too roughly]) and today, the fourth had issues with the on/off switch on the chord. It got super hot and it doesn't 'click' into either position. It's getting annoying to have to buy these things so frequently when I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be!

So here is our setup:
(Day) 14 Watt Fluorescent Light , purely for daytime cycling
(Day) 150 Watt Day White bulb in dome (Those zilla ones)
(Night) 75 Night Red Bulb (zilla ones) in the same dome
Plus a under cage heat pad thingy (the ones that stick) in a 20 gallon tank (It takes up about 1/4 or so of the length, maybe a little less but I swear he is always on it!)

And things about the house itself:
We live in a basement. In Chicago (Yeah, still with my parents =/)
The air is ALWAYS on, so it is very cold down there!
The setup we have now, however, keeps everything constant and where it should be, temperature-wise.

Now to the questions!:
-Our we using too HIGH of watts? I'm assuming they are burning the chords out because of this.
-Is it bad that we are using the same dome for both the day/night lights? It's pretty much on 24/7 and probably isn't helping either.
-Is it better to use a clamp, or set the dome on the top itself? Ours is a screen top and I feel like the weight would stretch it after a while.
-What should we doing that is safer and more efficient than what we are using now?

Besides the lighting issues, he is very healthy. He has a better attitude than most of the balls I have seen. He eats 2x a week, one mouse a day and hasn't rejected any yet. He has also just finished shedding (which came off in one piece except for a bit around his head). I think he was owned by somebody previously before we got him, also, which may help with that. He doesn't mind being handled at all! He's around two feet long and I can tell he's going to be a thick boy!


Dahhh, anyway! Thanks everyone for all your help and suggestions you can give me. It's feeding night tonight so I will probably be running to the pet store within the hour! Sorry for the long spheal~!