Space heater on thermostat or CHE lamp for ambient temperatures?

[cuteaspied]

Thank you to all who responded!

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...Quarantine-Tub
Welcome to the forums! As far as your concern about a fire hazard using a CHE, I'm not going to tell you that they couldn't start a fire, but if you use them correctly the risks are pretty low. I've had CHEs running literally for years with no issues. As long as you're using a thermostat and the appropriate fixture you should be fine.

That tub in the link is actually what I was planning to do in the first place, buuut I have cats so I don't want there to be a chance of them knocking the heat lamp down or messing with it in any way (I hear they get super hot!) so I decided to get a taller tub, cut a hole in the lid, add some wire mesh and hook the heat lamp directly on top of the mesh so it heats up the air inside the tub. I saw some pictures of set-ups like this and I think it'll be perfect for what I need. I do love how the hanging lamp looks though!
And I know the fire chance is very low, most equipment will just stop working before catching on fire I think, I've just always been pretty paranoid about fires with any kind of heating equipment. I have a thermostat and I looked up reviews for good fixtures so I've been trying to play it as safe as possible

If you don't mind I do have a question for you, with the thermostat on a CHE where does the probe go exactly? I see people either leave it hanging or attach it to the side of the enclosure and since you mentioned having CHE's for years it would be really helpful if I can see where you have yours.

A friend of mine who keeps one ball python has a wife who likes to be ***cold*** so their house never gets higher than 70*F in the summer, and 66-68*F is typical in the winter.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Me and my family love the cold so turning on the space heater at night has been really hard on me because it stays like 80 F in here and I have trouble sleeping when it's hot like that x_x It's worth it keeping my BP happy but I can't do it forever so I decided to go with a CHE placed on a wire mesh section on the tub's lid to heat the whole tub.
I considered the double UTH option but it can get as low as like 50s in our house during the winter so I really don't wanna risk it even if the belly heat is warm. Thanks for your response.