There is no reason to lower temps at night, not for a pet.
The best way to test the temp of a surface (like under the heat bulbs) is with a IR temp gun. Amazon has them cheap. A temp gun with a thermometer on the back wall will do just fine. If you get a temp gun using a suction cup to mount the probe like you had it is perfect.
A uth needs to have a thermostat. I Like the Herpstat. http://www.spyderrobotics.com/store/...ain_page=index
Buy the best tstat you can afford. Your snake can live a long time and repeatedly buying cheaps ones will cost more than buying one good one in the beginning.
Until you get a tstat I would unplug the uth and only use the lamps. A uth can really hurt your snake if its not regulated. To answer your question about a probe for the UTH: the probe from a tstat should go between the uth and the bottom of the cage on the outside while the probe for a thermometer should go inside under the substrate against the cage floor.
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