Shouldn't I be worried or not?

[ThunderBeast18]

I have a heat lamp which I keep 8-9 inches above the mesh and the UTH isn't plugged in 'cause I don't have a thermostat yet, and thanks for the links because the only themostats I could find were over 200 dollars

[bcr229]

I have a heat lamp which I keep 8-9 inches above the mesh and the UTH isn't plugged in 'cause I don't have a thermostat yet, and thanks for the links because the only themostats I could find were over 200 dollars

I took in a ball python burned by an unregulated heat source last year. The vet bill was almost $400 and she still didn't make it.

You can't NOT afford a thermostat. You can cheap out on décor, hides, substrate, etc. but not on the equipment to regulate heat.