Perhaps pointing your parents the way of a few care sheets will help them understand both how to better care for your ball python in your absence AND how important a thermostat is to not only the safety of the snake, but the safety of the home. They may be surprised to hear an unregulated thermostat can be a fire hazard; they HAVE caused fires before from improper use. See http://arachnoboards.com/threads/zoo...a-fire.295434/
Though that is an extreme example, there are far more numerous reports of unregulated UTH's burning holes in themselves, cracking the glass of vivariums, sparking, and overheating animals/causing burns. A ~30ish dollar investment for a cheap rheostat (like the one linked in an above post) could save you (and your parents) a good bit of grief in the future.
Just a thought on how to convince them on the thermostatI hope your ball starts eating for you again. Perhaps moving him to a tub set up would help-- they're a lot easier to maintain proper husbandry in than a tank, and putting one together doesn't cost much, especially if you already have the UTH, thermostat, and thermometer.
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