New ball python owner, seriously need advice

[tttaylorrr]

When i got home the temps were 76F 60% and 81F on hot side. AC set at 77.
I recieved a Zoo med CHE 60 watt along with the porcelain clamp lamp. Will that work?
My plan would be to get the Herpstat EZ2 and use that to regulate both the CHE and UTH, so i wont be inserting the CHE until the Stats arrives. At what temp should i set the STAT with the CHE and where should the probes be? Would that be a correct setup?
Also what about electricity consumption by all these items.
Sorry for all the questions im really interested hehe

don't apologize for trying to learn.

what you have will work, yes.

as for what temperature to set it at: that depends on your environment. my temp settings will be different from yours, as will everyone else's. once you get your t-stat, you'll need to play scientist and spend an hour or so letting everything run and periodically checking temps until you're happy and getting consistent readings. it's a bit of work, but once everything is dialed in the rest is a breeze. an IR temp gun will be a YUUUGE help here.

for CHE probe placement: you'll want to hang it down an inch or so above the substrate. how big is your snake btw? depending on size, they might climb the probe so be aware of that and try to anchor it down somehow, as best as you can (NO TAPE IN THE ENCLOSURE EVER). with a bigger snake this won't be an issue.

regarding electricity: well, the CHE won't pull more than 60 W lol, and if it's running full-blast then your thermostat isn't doing it's job. regulated heat sources are much cheaper to run than unregulated heat sources, as their electricity usage is, well, regulated. the thermostat will be pulling the most electricity, but the wattage is listed on the Herpstat website if you need to look it up.