Also, don't provide heat for the entire underside of the tank. Just a corner or at most half of the surface area. You need to give the snake the opportunity to get off of the heat if it prefers to do that. Bear in mind that your hand is a poor way to determine how hot a surface is as far as a snake is concerned. You are 98.6 degrees (thereabouts), so if it feels warm to your hand it may well be TOO hot for the snake.
Another reason for that arrangement is because thermostats CAN fail, whether it be part of the heating pad, or an add-on. If it fails such that the heat goes full tilt, it could be curtains for the animal. When I bought thermostats, I bought industrial grade ones, but even they aren't fail proof.
Just bear in mind that heat will kill a snake much quicker than cold will.
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