Congratulations on your new snake. Obviously there are many ways to successfully keep a healthy snake, so there is no "right" way.
However, I find it interesting that you have so much praise for this "Steve" person and yet discount all of the excellent advice that is on this forum. FWIW, I have lived in the Monterey area for about 20 years now, and have never heard of Steve or done business with him. I'm not saying he is a bad breeder, but he probably isn't as popular as you may believe.
I'm not sure why he would claim reptile UTH are bad and would recommend a regular heat pad. Heat pads are designed for occasional use and reptile UTH are designed for constant use. Personally, I have racks and cages with UTH that I have used for many, many years and have not had a single failure. That's not to say that they will never fail, but I would rely on them much more than a human heat pad.
Good luck with your new snake and congrats again.
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