Can I get by with just a Radiant heat panel?

[Spookychief]

My advice is to check the hotspot temps with a temp gun take the animal out of its hide. place the hide back down then check the temps while the hide is still over the spot. Heat pads on glass are known to cause cracks in the glass, so exposing the glass so the animal can rest on it is always unwise. Not only could the animal be cut by the glass if it's cracked by the heat pad but burns could also happen very easily if they lay on the glass. Since it sounds like your heat pad is inside the enclosure, what I would personally do to avoid the risk of cracking the glass, is get a piece of PVC or HDPE sheeting, cut it to be a little larger than the heat pad and place it underneath, then add your temp probe and substrate over it. This will prevent concerns of the glass breaking and PVC and HDPE are very commonly used in reptile enclosures. check temps hourly or at regular intervals and wait for it to stabilize then just adjust your controller as needed.

[Zoe]

My advice is to check the hotspot temps with a temp gun take the animal out of its hide. place the hide back down then check the temps while the hide is still over the spot. Heat pads on glass are known to cause cracks in the glass, so exposing the glass so the animal can rest on it is always unwise. Not only could the animal be cut by the glass if it's cracked by the heat pad but burns could also happen very easily if they lay on the glass. Since it sounds like your heat pad is inside the enclosure, what I would personally do to avoid the risk of cracking the glass, is get a piece of PVC or HDPE sheeting, cut it to be a little larger than the heat pad and place it underneath the heat pad secure it down on the edges with some aluminum tape used in HVAC systems, it adheres really well, just be sure to clean the glass prior to placing it down. then add your temp probe and substrate over it. This will prevent concerns of the glass breaking and PVC and HDPE are very commonly used in reptile enclosures. check temps hourly or at regular intervals and wait for it to stabilize then just adjust your controller as needed.

The heat pad is on the underside of the glass bottom (which I supposed makes no difference for cracking risk).

If I wanted to do away with the heat pad altogether and just a radiant heat panel, would that be acceptable? I would swap out the large RHP with a smaller one, I think, to heat one side to a higher temp. It would simplify things which I like and also I think he would get more access to heat than he is currently, since he's not getting much heat from the heat pad. The substrate surface above it is only a couple degrees higher than the ambiant temp.