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Re: newbie question
Realize that additional heat will speed up their metabolic rates, which will increase activity levels. If your snake is on display in a nice large enclosure, you might want to add the heat to increase activity levels, but if you have it in a small, out-of-the-way enclosure you can reduce activity levels and food consumption/defecation by lowering the temperature. A lot of this has to do with your personal preference.
If you're truely using a "black light" (the kind that make white clothes glow) you might want to reconsider because prolonged exposure to black lights can damage retinas. Exo Terra makes an infrared heat lamp (red light) that provides heat without affecting photoperiod. Fluker makes a "repta sun" red light bulb that also puts out heat without affecting photoperiod. If you choose to use supplemental heat, be cautious of Exo Terra's ceramic bulbs because they can melt ordinary light domes. Not coincidentally, Exo Terra makes special, thicker heat domes that won't melt with their ceramic bulbs.
As ssssnakeluvr said, they're not necessary... just a matter of personal choice.
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