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Glad to hear your using a t-stat with the UTH. Belly heat is the most important for BP. Not sure what you mean by "making a hole that the lamps can literally sit on". I think you mean to place the lamp right on the screen? If so, watch your temps and humidity. I had a red bulb 40w approx 12" above the cool side and the top of the substrate was reading at 96 - 98 with a infrared temp gun. The bulb can also drive humidity down. My issue was ambient temps being too low...

Also, glass enclosures can be a pain for heat retention, and humidity. I used aluminum foil to keep heat and humidity up as a temp measure. It worked pretty well... I now have the sides with foam core, a decorative scene, one 40w red lamp (cool side / ambient temps) and a small UTH on t-stat. My temps are 82 cool, and drop to 80 cool at night, 90-92 hot always on the hot side. The foil was replaced (though still used on occasion) with plexiglas cut to fit. The only open area on the screen now is where the red lamp is. I use an adjustable lamp stand to move up and down when and if needed. All floor / belly heat temps...

This is on a small 24"w x 12"d x 14"h enclosure with a typical house temp of 68 to 72 in that area.

This I consider a temp solution as we will be ordering an enclosure, radiant heat panel and UTH from Reptile Basics (RBI) within the next couple of months.

Good luck, others will provide some insight as well...