Heating question
Hello, I recently got a male blood python the people I got him from didn't know his age but they guessed around 6 months. I live in the southwest and keeping the humidity up was a challenge in his new age pet ecoflex so im getting a second hand animal plastics T10 (48x24x15). I want to avoid cutting a hole in the top of the enclosure for his halogen heat bulb. Having the bulb inside the enclosure would technically work but the cage would take up 8 inches and I don't necessarily want to leave the bulb exposed. My question is would a RHP be okay as his only heat source? Is my only option to cut the hole on top and put metal mesh underneath the bulb? Would it be okay to leave the bulb exposed? He also has a shadedweller 7% UVB bulb, and a led bar. The halogen is on a dimmer thermostat, and the led is also dimmed since they don't like too much light, the T10 was $80 in excellent condition so buying a different enclosure right now is not an option, I plan on putting him in a 6x3x2 when he is fully grown. Pic for reference, maybe someone can help me figure out how old he is. Thank you in advance!