I am new to ball pythons and this site and have enjoyed reading through this site. So now its time for questions of my own.

I recently purchased a ball python and have him/her mine for about 2 weeks now. I don't know the sex but plan to find out soon (one of the perks of my old lady being a vet tech cheaper bills). I purchased one of the generic zoo med 20 gallon reptile stater kit that came with the lights, bedding, a small UTH mat, etc... At first it didn't seem like the UTH was putting off much heat but, after a few days of he/she being on the cold side hide, I bought a digital thermometer and humidity gauge. The UTH was reading at temperatures of 105 F through the substrate and under the hide. I have an analog temperature/humidity that was reading the temperature at a steady 87-90 F. I unplugged the UTH this morning and and has been holding at 91 F and my ball python is back hanging out on the warm side ( I have heat lamps). I live in the Michigan and its pretty cold here now but the temperature inside his/hers tank seems to be holding. So my question is should I just leave the UTH unplugged? Also my digital humidity gauge is reading only at 23-30. I am using aspen bedding (waiting on a shipment of kritters crumbles to come) and have a damp towel on top. I mist a few times a day and it brings it up to around 50-60 for a little while then dissipates fast. Any suggestions?


Sorry for rambling just new to all this and looking for answers anything will help thank you.