In my opinion, heat lamps are not needed for ball pythons, UTH's are. I started with my first ball python with a UTH on one side and a heat lamp on the other for supplemental heat, and I was enslaved to that enclosure. I had to mist three times a day to keep the humidity up.

I saw in your picture of your set-up that you are using analog devices to measure temps and humidity. If you get a digital device, you are going to be shocked how low your humidity is as a result. It may also be why you have had to soak your animals to aid in sheds.

For me, there are no pro's to using heat lamps. They don't aid in digestion, they suck out humidity, they sometimes stress out ball pythons who are nocturnal and don't do well with light shining down on them 12 or 24 hours a day (I assume you run yours 24 hours a day since it's your only heat source), bulbs have to be replaced pretty frequently and the day I threw mine in the trash can was a liberating day!