I'm testing things in that terrarium to see what works. I dug a hole in the substrate to "expose" the heat mat, but the mat barely got the glass to 27C (80F) and didn't seem to do anything for the air temp. I don't think it would work with any amount of substrate. Does this mean it's not working as well as it should? Ambient temps in that room right now are about 20-22C (68-71.6F).

Right now I'm trying the rock to raise the basking spot. With this, the basking surface is 30-32C (86-89.5F), but he doesn't seem to care and doesn't use it. Air temps remain low and he has not gotten his appetite back. There's no space on the basking spot for a hide, but there are hides in the warmer side and he doesn't seem to use them more than the ones on the cooler side, so this snake is still confusing me. Could it just be jaded?

What can you do for a "jaded" snake?

He always gets his appetite back eventually, but sometimes it's not quite enough for him to get back to its former weight...

P.S. I set up a 75W bulb on a temporary terrarium that is a regular 10 gallon aquarium and it barely gets the temperature to 25C (77F) with a 22C (71.6F) room temperature...something wrong with these bulbs?