I'm using a heat lamp and it seems to work well. I've read that UTH is recomended but some sites say that they can be damaging to a snake. I'm also curious if the red UV lamp will mess up his cycles. I control the normal light he gets, but will he recognize the red light as daylight? Any opinions would be appreciated.
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Heating
- Thread starter Billinms
- Start date
I'm curious to hear how a UTH is damaging. Maybe if it is left unregulated and gets way too hot, then it could burn them. But, it is the responsibility of the pet owner to see that this doesn't happen.
A heat lamp heats up a rock or substrate or whatever so that the snake can sit and get the warmth to aid in digestion (for the most part). A UTH does exactly the same thing, providing belly heat to aid in digestion.
I've never used lights. I have repeatedly read that snakes cannot see red light and (if I remember correctly) that seems to be what many people use at night, if they use lights.
A heat lamp heats up a rock or substrate or whatever so that the snake can sit and get the warmth to aid in digestion (for the most part). A UTH does exactly the same thing, providing belly heat to aid in digestion.
I've never used lights. I have repeatedly read that snakes cannot see red light and (if I remember correctly) that seems to be what many people use at night, if they use lights.
PnyKlr
World's Tallest Midget
In my opinion, UTH are only dangerous if their temps aren't regulated/maintained with a rheostat. The case being that a snake has to choose between the cold side, or the really hot side, and they choose warmth (even if it's too hot). This is the same argument for heat rocks.
I have a UTH with aspen shavings for substrate. I measure the temp of the substrate, and it gets warme the closer you get to the bottom glass. I suppose that if a snake were cold enough, it could just bury itself a little lower.
A heat lamp will work well to heat the air inside the tank, but snakes need belly heat. Make sure that the substrate is getting warm enough, and that there is a temperature gradient in the tank (although I have read that a gradient is not necessary).
I am fairly certain that snakes cannot see the red light, so it is okay to leave it on 24 hours a day for constant heat. It shouldn't cause a problem with the day/night cycle.
I have a UTH with aspen shavings for substrate. I measure the temp of the substrate, and it gets warme the closer you get to the bottom glass. I suppose that if a snake were cold enough, it could just bury itself a little lower.
A heat lamp will work well to heat the air inside the tank, but snakes need belly heat. Make sure that the substrate is getting warm enough, and that there is a temperature gradient in the tank (although I have read that a gradient is not necessary).
I am fairly certain that snakes cannot see the red light, so it is okay to leave it on 24 hours a day for constant heat. It shouldn't cause a problem with the day/night cycle.
corn_breeder
New member
lights
well im wondering whats beeter a black(the purple one) heat light or a red one
well im wondering whats beeter a black(the purple one) heat light or a red one
PnyKlr
World's Tallest Midget
I found this that should be of some help with that:
"Just as the meaning of the term "full spectrum lights" has been perverted by lighting manufacturers (using them to refer to both UVB-producing fluorescents as well as non-UV-producing incandescent bulbs), the term "black light" is causing confusion. There are the real black lights (the BL and BLB fluorescents, the former of which is safe for reptile use for providing UVB and A, the latter the so-called "poster lights" which cause eye damage), and the incandescent "black lights" which include poster/Halloween type lights that cause white clothing to glow purple-ish, and the "black phosphor" reptile lights designed for nocturnal reptile heating, and the dark, but not dark enough for nighttime reptile heating, neodymium lights.
BL fluorescents may be used to provide UV for reptiles during the day - but you still need bright white light to promote basking, so you might as well stick to using a Vita-Lite or one of the other white-light-&-UV-producing fluorescents. In the days before the higher UVB lights were made, some herpers who kept lizards who in the wild would get higher UV (tropical, montane and desert fauna), used BL lights in addition to the Vita-Lites to provide higher levels of UV for their lizards. With the new higher UV lights, this is no longer necessary.
Never provide UV at night. Just as the sun doesn't shine at night, so too should we be providing a comparable UV- and light-free periods for our animals, be they nocturnal, diurnal,or crespuscular. If you need to provide heat at night, use the nocturnal reptile incandescent light bulb, a high enough wattage dark red, blue or green light bulb (not the so-called "party lights" that produce bright colored light), or a ceramic heating element. During some parts of the year, a people heating pad in or under the tank may provide sufficient heat in the enclosure for the reptile if heat is prevented from escaping from the top of the enclosure. "
http://www.anapsid.org/blacklight.html
"Just as the meaning of the term "full spectrum lights" has been perverted by lighting manufacturers (using them to refer to both UVB-producing fluorescents as well as non-UV-producing incandescent bulbs), the term "black light" is causing confusion. There are the real black lights (the BL and BLB fluorescents, the former of which is safe for reptile use for providing UVB and A, the latter the so-called "poster lights" which cause eye damage), and the incandescent "black lights" which include poster/Halloween type lights that cause white clothing to glow purple-ish, and the "black phosphor" reptile lights designed for nocturnal reptile heating, and the dark, but not dark enough for nighttime reptile heating, neodymium lights.
BL fluorescents may be used to provide UV for reptiles during the day - but you still need bright white light to promote basking, so you might as well stick to using a Vita-Lite or one of the other white-light-&-UV-producing fluorescents. In the days before the higher UVB lights were made, some herpers who kept lizards who in the wild would get higher UV (tropical, montane and desert fauna), used BL lights in addition to the Vita-Lites to provide higher levels of UV for their lizards. With the new higher UV lights, this is no longer necessary.
Never provide UV at night. Just as the sun doesn't shine at night, so too should we be providing a comparable UV- and light-free periods for our animals, be they nocturnal, diurnal,or crespuscular. If you need to provide heat at night, use the nocturnal reptile incandescent light bulb, a high enough wattage dark red, blue or green light bulb (not the so-called "party lights" that produce bright colored light), or a ceramic heating element. During some parts of the year, a people heating pad in or under the tank may provide sufficient heat in the enclosure for the reptile if heat is prevented from escaping from the top of the enclosure. "
http://www.anapsid.org/blacklight.html