I did not make my last post to argue about whether snakes need UVB; I was answering the question of this topic. "Need" is different from providing something that would enrich the snake's life, which would be UVB. Wanting to mimic nature more closely and providing the snake enrichment via UVB isn't going to hurt anything if done correctly--hence the original post asking how--and I find the "argument" about the necessity not helpful right now. Enrichment is never a bad thing if it is done safely.
I don't think UVB is regarded as a health benefit but it is used to more mimic a snake's natural environment. Even snakes that hide will bask for part of the day and get some amount of UVB in nature, and there's nothing wrong with adding this in captivity.
Edit: I didn't see the latest post as I was typing mine. Your snake isn't going to like, die if it doesn't have UVB. People add UVB, from what I understand, to allow their snakes to express more natural behaviors such as basking, which they don't do without UVB. I think the concept is that this helps mimic nature better and is better welfare for the snake to be able to express additional natural behaviors.
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