NEED HELP - Baby Jungle Carpet Python Heating

Hello, So I recently purchased a baby jungle carpet python, and was recommended to use a small cage. The cage I am using is 12 in L, 12 in W, 18 in H. The problem I'm having is I cant really regulate the heat, I am limited by the width of the cage. One heat lamp takes up most of the screen top. The "hot side" is around 88 F while the "cool side" is around 85. It is hard to keep the "cool" side "cool" while maintaining heat. If you have any ideas or suggestions on how to regulate the heat better on a small enclosure I would be very grateful. The snake is 3 months old.

Downside to an enclosure that is so small, you'll run into this sort of problem, and have limited options to correct it. I'm going to guess you are using a zoomed or exoterra style enclosure from the description. Using one of these enclosures you may find success with a few simple changes. First what I do when using exo terras, is to have glass cut to put in place of the screen top (if you do this, be sure to measure accurately, there are little tabs that are in the way, and if you don't factor those in you'll end up with an unusable piece of glass) second thing I do is I put insulation around the enclosure on the sides and the back (since glass isn't great for holding heat in) the third thing I do is install radiant heat panels, but that isn't an option really for such a small enclosure, so what I would do is install heat tape on the bottom of the enclosure. With these changes you may find a better gradiant for your little snake.