Diagnosis recieved and appreciated: snake, normal, owner, bit stupid. Fair! I will try out the clamps and if need be get some equipment to make a hole big enough for the cord. Appreciate the kick in the pants for sure-I can always trust the forums to know and spell out what's best for the snake.
As for the temps/house, it's just my room. It has no insulation whatsoever. The rest of the house is normally arohnd 70. I had a space heater to keep temps up for snake last winter, I should have busted it out two months ago. That T8 keeps in heat very well so I figured I didn't need it, but... stupid.