Caught a Garter snake last week

[Roger Wildcat]

The A/C is busted right now, been like that since Thursday. Not sure when the serviceman will come back with a electric board he ordered from the manufactorer.

Right now, my family is enjoying the Florida weather inside our house with all the windows open. Can't say the same about the dwarf hamsters though.

For that reason, I have not yet brought any heat lamp as it hot in the house. Lucky it is not July when this happened. When it does get fixed, the themostat is usually set to 78/79 degrees. Sometimes as low as 76 if my wife is playing with the thermostat. I needed to find out if a heat lamp is needed and what wattage bulb before I buy one.

[MasSalvaje]

I needed to find out if a heat lamp is needed and what wattage bulb before I buy one.

I wouldn't bother with a heat lamp. Your home temps should be fine, but I do recommend a light, the closer to full spectrum the better. I like to use the fluorescent Plant/Aquarium lights. They make the viv look really nice and the snakes seem to bask more when using them, at least in my experience.

Welcome,

-Thomas

[infernalis]

I needed to find out if a heat lamp is needed and what wattage bulb before I buy one.

Please just trust me, you do not need any heat lamps, I swear it.

[Millinex]

Please just trust me, you do not need any heat lamps, I swear it.

Seconded, I literally can not name a single snake on the market today that needs a heat lamp.

[Sonya610]

Some cheap dollar store plants that he can hide in if he chooses may put him more at ease, the cage setup is very open and that may make him feel more insecure.

I am no expert but I have read full spectrum lighting can be important because it changes the way reptiles see their world, might also want to consider a reptisun lamp as Concinnus Man suggested earlier.

Others may argue about whether they need this or not. I do not see a downside to providing full spectrum lighting (especially since you have a tank setup) and apparently some may really like/need it.

Importance of UVA

Humans and reptiles alike see into the visible light range (400-700 nanometers). Reptiles and many other animals (but not humans) can also see into the UVA range (320-400 nm). UVB producing lights also produce UVA. UVA subtly affects the way things look to a reptile, from the color of their food to the color of their bodies. To us, male anole dewlaps look reddish - to another anole with sufficient UVA, however, they are brilliant, radiating, flaring red. The tongue of a blue-tongue skinks looks, to us, like the skink has been eating a basket of blueberries. To another blue-tongue skink, however, the tongue is a bright, fluorescent, day-glo pink. Failure to provide UVA to diurnal reptiles can causes subtle stress by altering the reptile's perception of its universe and how it responds to it. This can be crucial if you are thinking about breeding them or keeping them around for the length of their natural lifespan...

Lighting and heating for reptiles: They are not the same thing