So, first of all, very exciting news; I got my hands on a pair of VE-175W (or Christmas Tree Boxes) this holiday season! I'm really stoked for my female blood to grow into this set up and I'm moving my adult BP into the other to give him a bit of extra wiggle room.

Only there's a problem; there is a grid of raised plastic on the underside of the tub. I use Ultra-Therm heating pads and thermostats and I'm worried that the heat pad will not have enough contact to actually hold heat inside the tub or create any kind of belly heat.

Does anyone have any thoughts on how to rig this to work? Could I mount the heating pads on the side? I feel like that would help with ambient temp, but not keep the temps where I need them for a 'hot side'. The Ultra-Therm pads don't get super hot, its actually one of the reasons I love them. But that poses the problem of keeping temps up.
Someone had suggested to place the heating pad inside, then place tile across the bottom on top of that. I'm not overly fond of this idea...the thought of heating elements inside a tub gives me the bad vibes.

Anyone know how to get around this and make this tub work? I'm so ready for more room for my snakes, bit I'm usnure how to make it happen. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!