Need help with temperatures

[BPGuy]

Yes, unless you have a very large adult female, you can keep two adults in one divided T8 comfortably. If you have a chillier house (like I do) you might need a RHP and a UTH, as the RHP won't make a hot spot, it'll just raise your ambients. If your house is warm, just the UTH. Also, as UTH is short for 'Under Tank Heater' anything that goes under the enclosure to produce heat is considered a UTH, not just the mats or the heat tape.

What would you consider to be a "warm" house? My house gets down to 68 during the winter but can be as warm as 82 during the summer. Based on this information, would you recommend a RHP, a UTH, or both if I go with a T8?

I understand that it is important to have a thermal gradient. How important is it, though, that the temperatures for the cool spot and hot spot be as recommended in the care sheet? For example, is it more important to have a hot spot that it is the 88-92 range than to have a cool spot that it is in the 80-84 range? In other words, if my hot spot is in the 88-92 range but my cool spot is, say in the 68-72 range, is that acceptable? Or, do I really need to heat both sides of the tank (as I'm doing now) to try to keep once side at 88-92 and the other at 80-84?

BTW, I called Animal Plastics earlier today (after my last posts) and spoke with Ali. As nearly everyone else here has indicated, she was extremely helpful. More and more, I am liking the idea of a single T8 with divider to hold our two BPs. The questions at this point are whether it will fit on the counter where one of the 40 gallon tanks is currently located (I know there is no way it will fit on the dresser where the other tank is located) and how much it will cost me to fully equip the T8. Ali said that if I opt for RHPs, I should contact Pro Products so I've sent them an e-mail requesting information as to sizing and pricing. Any other RHPs that I should consider if I go with a T8? Also, can two large Reptile Basics hides fit in one side of a T8 if the T8 has a divider?