Your thoughts for your snake's safety if he were to burrow & touch the hot glass is correct-
As already suggested, keep the substrate shallow* over the UTH so the heat can properly rise (instead of possibly overheating the UTH due to excessive "insulation" above it), & lower the UTH temperature to keep the "warm hide" about 88* instead.
*This will also help lower the humidity (as will time) since the reason for all the condensation is that it takes time for all the moisture to evaporate when the substrate is too deep.
You want the cool side to be more like 78*, so if your home/room is chilly (due to A/C or winter) yes, you need to add a heat source to maintain the proper temperature range- otherwise your snake may perceive it's winter & refuse to eat. We cannot tell you specifically if what you suggest "will work" because you need to test it out & make adjustments. You mentioned you plan to get your snake soon...so making these adjustments NOW is critical- your snake should not be a "guinea pig" while you keep adjusting, that will stress them something fierce.
Also- your enclosure is too big & "open" for a new snake (BP) to feel safe. Fix that BEFORE he (or she) arrives, not after, to help prevent feeding problems & reduce his/her stress. This is important- especially if you're getting a "baby" BP, the space & open floor plan will overwhelm them with fear, especially because it's all new to them- in the wild, they depend on hiding to survive other predators that hunt them. Even adult BPs can be expected to hide most of the time- they're "ambush predators", meaning they don't hunt & pursue prey out in the open- they lie in wait for clueless prey to get too close to where they're hiding. Your success with a BP will depend on how well you can re-create that.
Many BP keepers prefer to use "tubs" for baby BPs- you might want to consider doing that- & you could actually put it inside the enclosure you have, to make use of the UTH at one end.
Reply With Quote