Questions & ANSWERS
Suitable lighting
David Alderton
DO YOU NEED A HELPING HAND OR ADVICE?
Email your queries to practicalreptilekeeping@gmail.com. A selection of submitted questions will appear here every month. Regrettably, replies can only be given through this column, and if you are worried about the health of your animal, seek veterinary advice without delay.
Q & A As a newcomer to the hobby, I am wondering if you can use ordinary conventional spotlight bulbs for reptiles or do you have to use specialist bulbs? Is there any difference between the two types and do the reptiles get a benefit from heat bulbs?
I am often asked about the best way to heat and/or light reptiles. There is such a choice of lamps available from specialized zoo-only high output ultraviolet (UV) lamps to standard kitchen or home-type spots. So what’s the difference?
The health-giving benefits of sunlight for reptiles have led to a huge amount of money and effort being devoted to research into UV light and its effects on reptiles. Reptiles use the sun in many different ways, including for vitamin production, thermal regulation and hormonal changes and reproduction, all of which are affected by the sun and perhaps even by its yearly course. UV light is essential to their well-being in virtually all cases.
The tendency now is to simplify heating and lighting requirements, so that a specialist product like Arcadia’s D3 basking lamp offers heat, light and a source of both UVA and UVB. If you just want to increase visible light and temperature in the vivarium, however and provide a separate UV source as necessary, then yes, tungsten lamps can be used.