Buy a thermostat. It keeps the heatpad from scorching your snake. They're only about 20 bucks at Petsmart or Petco, I think. Heatpads don't regulate themselves, you don't want it to just run at full steam all the time, it would be detrimental to your snake.

Yes, your snake needs a cave on both ends, one for the hot side and one for the cool side. What's the rest of your setup, water dish, substrate...?
-----
Holly

0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Lizzie Borden) (missing )
1.0 Florida Kingsnake possible mix (Eddie Gein)
1.0 Bearded Dragon (Charley Manson)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Egyptian Arabian (Bagan)

2.0 Toddlers (Justice & Trevor)