lighting help for newbie

[malicia]

A couple months ago I took over caring for a red tail boa that was abandoned at a friend's house. I have never owned a snake and I'm becoming confused about lighting because i have been getting conflicting information. One friend told me a simple red light bulb is fine for day and night and will provide enough heat with the heat pad. The pet store guy told me to use a neodymium light at day and a purple uv light at night. My bf said to use the neodymium light but that boas don't need uv. What does my snake need!!!

[technocardy]

I'm a serious noob at this, but from what I've read so far is that your snake doesn't need any UV light at all. Anything that is a low light heat light will do. I read somewhere that when you make the room dark that the snake is going to be in, if you ca barely see the light on the ground of the tank that's more than enough for the snake. Also, as long as that light is keeping the warm side of the tank within range, you should be good.

For the experts in here if I'm wrong, please post with correct information as I don't want to be giving out the wrong info.

[Mikoh4792]

Boas do not need light to survive.

heat lamps can work, but they are not good for a couple of reasons. They dry out the air, the bulbs don't last too long, and it will be annoying when you hook it up to a thermostat because of the flickering lights.

You need to get a thermostat and control every heat source you have. I'd recommend using either a heat mat or a radiant heat panel(or both if you live in an area that gets cold in the winter).

What enclosure will you be giving to your snake? i would stay away from glass tanks with screen tops. Either plastic enclosures(made for reptiles) or plastic tubs/rubbermaids will be better at retaining heat and humidity than glass tanks.

[Kera]

What Mikoh said. If you want light without using a heat lamp, keep the snake in a low traffic, sunlit room. :) I keep my curtains and blinds open so the snakes can get some natural light
(I'm biased, I love natural light, especially in pictures. ;) )

[jpsteele80]

A pet store is going to tell you that you need the best of the best of what they have because they want your money, if you ever have questions come here, There is a wealth of knowledge on this board

[Zcorpshea]

I use an LED fishlight for my boa, got it for 40 dollars on sale. no heat and deecent lighting, well worth it in my mind.