Soon to be BP owner - A few questions

[CloudtheBoa]

I'd advise an RHP or CHE over a heat lamp if possible, since heat lamps put off light, and even red/black/purple light can disrupt their day/night cycles.

You should give special attention to humidity with overhead heat, though, as it can dry out the air if you don't offer humidity properly since it actually evaporates water. Aspen most likely wouldn't work too well in this sort of set up, since it molds so easy. Aspen does well in belly heat set ups because belly heat doesn't dry the bedding or air, so the aspen isn't needing to provide your humidity.

RHPs are designed to heat surfaces specifically, not so much ambients, so you will still need to keep the room the snake is in fairly warm to maintain temps, and CHEs burn very hot so you must make/buy a bulb cage for it, or keep the bulb outside the enclosure. Also make sure the lamp has a ceramic base, not a metal base, as CHEs can ruin a regular heat lamp.

If you're going to use a tank with overhead heat, you will also be looking forward to some moderate to extensive modification to keep proper humidity levels, as the screen top will let the vast majority of your humidity out in a relatively short amount of time.

If you've got the money or know-how I'd suggest a PVC enclosure or custom wooden enclosure over a glass tank.