EDIT: I misunderstood the type of heat you have so disregard
I also have a t8 from Animal Plastics. At the risk of repeating info as I have not read the entire thread yet: Your heat panel is not intended to be in the enclosure. It's intended to be taped to the bottom underneath the enclosure. You will want the thermostat probe in the enclosure under the substrate to ensure the enclosure reaches the right temp. But this way your snake won't have access to the plug to unplug it.
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