I was in the same boat just last week. My ball python is in our basement so ambient temperature was what I was battling (68 degrees +/-). By the time I got the temps up where I needed them on both sides, my humidity had gone down to 20-25%. The CHEs work great for ambient temps. But... they KILL your humidity. But I was bound and determined to make my "pretty tank" work! After several days, I FINALLY got the tank dialed in with a wet towel on top covering 85% of the screen, CHE towards the middle, with a UTH on the hot side. Both CHE and UTH on separate thermostats. Hot side basking spot at 90, cool side at 81, humidity around 50%. The towel helped keep the heat in and keep the humidity up. But it was less than ideal since I would have to make sure the towel was wet every day. What was I going to do if I wasn't at home?
After realizing this was not going to work for my situation, I unplugged everything. I went to Target and spent $10 on a SteriLite 16 qt locking tub. After 20 minutes, my temps were right where they needed to be and my humidity was spot on. And unfortunately my 20 "pretty" gallon tank now sits out in the garage.
So my current setup includes a VE-300 thermostat set at 90F for my UTH on the hot side. I have another VE-300 set at 80 degrees running the CHE that is mounted about 8 inches above the tub. This keeps the ambient temps about 80-82 on the cool side and the humidity is not effected. This was the only way I could figure out how to keep my ball python's enclosure where it needed to be in a cool environment.
Everyone said "get a tub, get a tub." I finally did and will never go back. While it doesn't look as good, my ball python is happy, secure and feeding. I will never fight with a screened in tank again.
The silver lining to this is that now I have a ready-to-go 20 gallon tank that needs a new "pet!" It just won't be a ball python.
Hope this helps and good luck!
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