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Lighting Intensity and Amel Corns?

Kryos

Kryos

En.psycho.pedia
I've been the proud owner of an amelanistic corn for almost 2 weeks now. For the first couple of days, due to...well, my parents objection to me possibly having any more pets, I had her vivarium in the space underneath my bed. Since I have my bed in a corner, and have a drawer set underneath it, there is a small, narrow crawlspace between the back of the drawers and the wall, the perfect size to slide in a plastic critter keeper with its precious contents...XD However, worried about not enough light reaching this remote recess of my abode, I purchased an 18 inch "Repti Glo 8.0 Desert Terrarium Lamp", by Exo Terra, and installed it in a standard fluorescent fixture with a covering for the bulb to reduce light intensity. Although I am aware that corn snakes do not necessarily require UV light, it hasn't been reported to hurt them either, and I like to spoil my pretties besides. :p I simply rested it on top of her enclosure, which is approximately 6 inches high, so that it ran the full length of it. I have since continued this practice even after moving her to my desk following sharing the news of my acquisition with the rest of the family, as I tend to have my blinds drawn 24/7, so that she can get enough light. However, I am concerned with hearing that amels and other such corns lacking in pigmentation are understandably sensitive to strong lighting. Could this lighting be causing more harm than good, or is it okay to continue as I have been doing?

Concerned Keeper,
~Kryss~
 
I see no real issue with what you are doing although I would be inclined to fit a timer to the light to give the snake a break at night.

I'm no expert however, hopefully someone else can give you more info.
 
I do turn off the light at night, and run it on a very similar cycle to what I use for my beardie. She seems to spend most of her day in her hide, and comes out later on in the evening...she does poke her head out now and then to see just what I'm up to though! :p

Wow...posting at 2 in the morning really isn't helpful for my coherency...XD
 
Thank-you for the reply none the less! ^^

(I'll appologize in advance for the double-post...;_;)
 
It's only anecdotal as far as I know, but some keepers have observed an increased incidence of blindness in Corns lacking the darker pigments (mainly Snows) when kept with UV. I've heard it described as akin to putting a blonde or redhead out in the midday sun without any sunblock.

As your Corn is spending all day in her hide (as Corns usually do), I wonder if there's really any benefit to having UV? After all, in the wild they are mainly active at dawn and dusk and would have minimal exposure to the UV in sunlight, and then only at very low intensities.

There have been some interesting discussions about the use of UV here before. if you use the Search facility, you'll be able to find them.
 
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Only light I have on mine is natural, They are in a dim corner of my dining room which has made many a dinner guest very nervous. I hate non snake people
 
my corn

now pardon me in case i am wrong, but in my defense i've not been a snake keeper for long myself. i was told as you were that corns dont need uv lighting but also told it wouldn't do any harm, i was then pointed toward a 2.0 daylight bulb, now i would of thought your Repti Glo 8.0 Desert Terrarium bulb might be more powerful than needed, i might be wrong its just a querie!! can anyone shed any light on this ( pun not intended )
 
To be honest jv, if UV isn't necessary and there is even a slight health risk (if based on purely anecdotal evidence) then I'll continue to avoid using it at all, at any strength.

Basically, there are no known benefits for Corns of UV (unless someone else can find us links?) and some suspicion that it may be actively harmful for some morphs.

There are areas of disagreement with Corn husbandry and ultimately, we each have to make up our own minds what we consider to be correct. Quite often there isn't a "right" or "wrong" answer, there's just "the way that has worked for me".
 
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