Yea, i figured that was your setup. I Think you should bring the cool side temp up a bit but other than that it sounds good. The uth should just be removed it is doing absolutely nothing but heating the water running through the eco system you built and maybe growing bacteria or mold.

I have live plants too and understand why you do. As for the snake. A hiding ball python is a happy ball python. The cage sounds good so not seeing your snake roaming is a good thing. Mine only will go from hide to hide at night. Very rarely will she just explore, unless she is hungry.

You upload pics to a site like photobucket and then copy the img code and paste it in your post. It will be a link in your post text but a pic once posted.