Space heater on thermostat or CHE lamp for ambient temperatures?

[cuteaspied]

I'm running a PVC enclosure now so it's a bit different, but the top of my warm hide is also in the low to mid 90s. Now, in a glass enclosure, I used both a CHE and a UTH. The CHE was all about ambient temperature and the UTH, under the warm hide, was what I used to create a hot spot. I'm not saying you HAVE to have a UTH but I did like the fact that I had that constant 90 degree spot my BP could get to. Now for your situation, 97 may be a tad hot especially if that CHE is keeping that spot at that temperature pretty much 24/7. My concern there would be that the surface gets hot enough to burn your snake, which may be unlikely but just something to think about.

You could always raise that probe up closer to the CHE to get the temps on top of the hide lower, but then of course you're losing some of your heat inside the hide. It may be worth taking a look at getting a UTH just to be safe, but it's really up to you and what you feel comfortable with.

Ohh alright, I raised the probe a bit and I turned my lamp back down to 88 F and so far the top of the hide is 90, the cool side is 79-82 and the bottom of the warm hide is at 83. Though I just started it up about an hour ago so I'm gonna let it run all day again and make sure it stays stable.
And I'm really silly, I DO have a UTH on a thermostat right now which I'll use on the tub when I move my snake, I just can't test it atm cause it's being used on the tub he's currently in. So I will have a UTH to use with the CHE under the warm spot to keep the ground around 89-90 when he's actually in it Sorry I was really tired last night lol

Try setting the thermostat down to 87*F. The floor under the hide will be a bit cooler but the hide's plastic top will be in the low 90's and your ball python will probably put his back up against it to help him stay warm.

Thanks for the response! I lowered it to 88 but I'll also try 87 in a few hours if the hide still remains too hot.