My babies were kept in a hatchling rack with back heat. The tubs were set up with cypress and a small water bowl, no hides were needed since they just burrowed under the cypress.
The UTH goes under the tub with the thermostat probe sandwiched between the UTH and the tub. Since the UTH should never go above 90*F to create a hot spot in the mid-80's, it can't melt the tub. I know some people use the foil so that they can easily move the UTH from tub to tub as needed.
"Thermal mass" = something big and dense that will take a long time to heat up and/or cool down as the ambient air temperature changes, that your snake can lie on or against to cool off as your house gets warm.
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