I live in Canada too and I get how cold it could get, especially in the basement nonetheless! Having a heat lamp really sucks all the humidity out of an enclosure. You should try making a humid hide- which is basically a hide with damp sphagnum moss (great at holding humidity) or try changing your substrate from aspen to either coco husk or cypress mulch (both retain humidity better than aspen). Lastly, you could try changing her from an aquarium style tank to a Sterilite tub (holds humidity and temperature very well). There are many threads on this forum that teach how to make your own Sterilite tub style enclosure for ball pythons.


You should really get a thermostat. I bought mine off Amazon for only $35-40 and it ships straight to your door in just a few days. It's really not worth risking your snake's life because a burn can be really serious. Even if there is a lot of substrate over the heat, she can bury underneath the aspen and that can cause serious damages. I've seen so many threads with people posting up pictures of their burnt snakes because of unregulated heat sources and it's horrible since it's something that can be easily avoided.