Looking for a little help here on a new cage. I want to do what’s best for my BP, and I’m going back and forth over my options….

Here’s my dilemma… I plan on ordering an Animal Plastics T8 in the coming weeks and cannot for the life of me determine whether I want to try a radiant heat panel, or just use the 8.5” circle screen cutout that AP provides and use a Ceramic Heat Emitter(Maybe two cutouts if need be). I currently use a CHE on my glass 20Long aquarium and it does a great job of keeping my ambient at 80 degrees. The CHE does not affect my humidity terribly. I’m posting this because I read so much back and forth information about whether RHP’s raise tank temps, or merely provide a hotspot for the animal coming from the top of the tank versus from the bottom of the tank as an UTH.

Having a hard time believing that a RHP will do a good job of heating a T8 enclosure for me. I live in Minnesota and room temps can drop to 65 degrees, heating the room separate is not an option. I can’t believe an RHP will compensate the 15 degree difference to get to 80.

I do not want to put heavy terracotta flower pots for hides into the T8 to soak up radiant heat. Simply want to use my two RP plastic hides and a plastic water bowl. I do not want to use any types of lighting for a heat source.
I really don’t understand how RHP’s are doing great things for people that do not house their animals in an already heated room since this is all radiant, and everyone knows an radiant heat like a UTH does little to nothing to raise cage temps.

And this whole probe thing used via an RHP, basically I would think you are just measuring the surface temp of the probe, and rather not the ambient of the cage.

Who thinks a RHP would suffice for my needs above, or would you try the CHE route again? Anybody who can offer any insight into this would be greatly appreciated. If I’m wrong in my thinking or statements above please feel free to point it out, and show me how I'm wrong.

Thank you.