I'm thinking that you will have to use manual mode...because if most of the scene is very dark...the camera's meter will give you way too slow of a shutter speed...which will either require a tripod or will be very blurry...and the bright spots will be way too bright.
Experiment to find what settings you will need. Go out at night and light something up with the lamp...and try different settings. When you find animals and light them up...your settings should be close to your experiments...give or take depending on how far away the light is.