[adamanteus]

I always use heat mats or cables, on a thermostat. Lighting is always strip lights which produce very little heat. I find the temperature is easier to contol this way, without effecting the photo-period. As Roy said, Garters like to bask, and sometimes I do worry about this, but as the hot-spot is in a brightly lit area of the viv, my animals generally seem to be fooled.