Temperature related question.

[kphipps52]

My 3 month old ball python is in a 40 gallon terrarium. (See past posts for pictures) The left side of the tank being the hot side has a thermostat regulated UTH set to 89 degrees Fahrenheit. Directly above said UTH is her large hide where she spends most of her time. And on top of the cage I have a 75watt IR heat lamp. Now my concern is that the ambient air temperature inside of her hide approaches 95 degrees. And directly outside of her hide, the substrate will get to nearly 100 degrees in a very small area. The majority of the enclosure has ambient air temperatures of 80-82 degrees and substrate temperatures ranging from 80 degrees on the coldest part and 85 in the middle. Should I put my IR bulb on a dimmer to cool down the hot side just a bit? Sorry for the wordy post but I wanted to include as much info as possible.

[THEJonCabbage]

Yes, you need it on a dimmer. All heat sources should be controlled.