i don't mean to sound rude or anything, and i understand that things come up and money can be tight. i just wanted to put things in perspective.

i would say get a lamp dimmer from home depot or lowes. the UTH plug right in to it and then plus it into the wall. you can adjust the power the UTH will receive which in turn will lower the temps. i would say this is a top priority.

when then money things get settled, hit up Rich at reptilebasics.com for a nice Johnson Control, or a Ranco. until then a lamp dimmer and a nice layer of substrate will do wonders.

again i hope i didn't offend you or anything like that... i was just trying to help.