Most reptiles that are kept in captivity need some sort of artificial light and heat. Most of the light will come from a combination of fluorescent and incandescent lights. With incandescent fixtures you can provide some light or place a heat bulb in the fixture for some heat.
A lot of reptiles will need a certain spectrum of light that contains UVA and UVB light. UVA is long wave ultraviolet and is of significant importance for reptiles. UVB stands for medium wave ultraviolet B, and is the most important for reptile purposes.
In the wild, most reptiles synthesize their vitamin D3 from the UVB component of sunlight. Vitamin D3 is essential for the effective metabolism of dietary calcium in reptiles.
Carnivorous and omnivorous reptiles get a high amount of their vitamin D3 requirement from their food. However, plants do not contain D3 – instead they contain D2, which is far less efficient in calcium metabolism than D3. Herbivorous reptiles are therefore far more dependent upon the quantity and quality of artificial lighting than carnivorous reptiles.
If inadequate vitamin D3 is available , the animal will rapidly develop the condition known as Metabolic Bone Disease. In this condition, bone density suffers and various other serious problems occur. Symptoms include swelling, lethargy, general weakness, tremors, and softening of the shell in turtles and tortoises.
So, in general, if you are keeping a vegetable eating reptile, you will want to make sure that you are using a light with fairly high UVB levels. A light that has a UVB rating of 5, 8 or 10 is adequate for most plant eaters. Most of these bulbs will also have an adequate amount of UVA. A good example of a reptile that needs a high UVB rating is an Iguana, as these are primarily vegetarian.
If you are keeping a carnivorous reptile, you won’t need as much UVB in the light.
Some good bulbs to use for reptile lighting include:
REPTISUN 2.0 FLUORESCENT 18-INCH
REPTISUN 2.0 FLUORESCENT 24-INCH
REPTISUN 2.0 FLUORESCENT 36-INCH
REPTISUN 5.0 FLUORESCENT 15-INCH
REPTISUN 5.0 FLUORESCENT 18-INCH
REPTISUN 5.0 FLUORESCENT 24-INCH
REPTISUN 10.0 FLUORESCENT 18-INCH
REPTISUN 10.0 FLUORESCENT 24-INCH
REPTISUN 10.0 FLUORESCENT 36-INCH
REPTISUN 10.0 FLUORESCENT 48-INCH
Tags: Reptiles & Crabs
