I am not entirely sure how many people do it, but as long as the mat itself reads 92F, it will be fine. With a heat mat, it does not do the best job raising ambient temperatures. I use a rack system with belly heat. The end of the tub is the hot spot. The floor of it reads 90-92F but my ambient temps never reach above 86F. I think this is pretty normal for people who do not have a controlled snake room. If you raise your heat mat to match ambient temperatures, you risk burning your snake. You can add a heat lamp to a plastic tote easily by getting screen mesh and cutting a hole in the lid that matches the size of the lamp but it really is not necessary IMO. Others my chime in with their thoughts though.