I have been setting up a terrarium for the last week or so getting ready for a new bp. I wanted to make sure that the temp and humidity was right before getting it obviously and I have some questions.

HEAT I bought an under tank heater for my 40 gallon tank and I think I wasted 20$ Is it okay to put this underneath the hide box or is this supposed to serve as a cooler resting place as well as a place to hide? Many of the books I have say snakes like to have a cool side and a warm side so should I use a ceramic heater or heat lamp in conjunction w/ this or just get a ceramic/heat lamp place it at the oppsite side of the hide box and forget about the heating pad?

Humidity I have put a rather large water bowl in the tank and still the humidity is low(35-45%.) What should I do?

Substrate Is carpet a reasonable choice for the bedding? I have some left over from another project and cut some to size for the tank. (newspaper looks tacky and commercial bedding is expensive and is a pain in the @@@ to clean....I know cause I went that route w/ my iguana years ago.)

LIGHT Some of the books I have contradict each other about many of these issues including light. Should I light the terrarium? Should I get a heat lamp? I have full spectrum lights I could use: 1 book says it will make them darker, 1 says it will stress them 1 says it is great for them, some say a photoperiod is important especially for breeding and the reptile store says I need not light the tank at all. WTF?

Please help I am so eager to get my first ball I can't sleep at night, yet I don't have a working habitat yet.