Posted by:
BonnieK
at Fri Jan 8 05:27:05 2016 [ Report Abuse ] [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by BonnieK ]
Has anyone had eye problems in their reptiles? If so, you may want to check an article in www.uvguide.co.uk. It deals with a condition called photo-kerato-conjunctivitis. I have used the Reptisun 10.0 high output 18" fluorescent tubes for a number of years, and noticed eye problems in my Blue Spiny Lizards on and off since September of 2013. These are desert animals, but I've been to Laredo, Texas three times in the past three years, and noticed that "desert animals" DO NOT bask during the hottest, brightest times of the day. It is either early morning or late afternoon when the sun is not directly overhead. I had no idea that the lighting could be a problem due to the fact that it is the norm to give reptiles UVA/UVB radiation. Being in the northern USA, I change the bulbs on the first day of Fall every year for the high seasonal UVA/UVB output, knowing that the lights will degrade over time until windows can be opened the next Spring/Summer to allow these lizards the natural sunlight. They are suspended from the ceiling at a minimum of 18" from the highest point to 26" from the lowest. Out of five of these lizards, four had developed eye problems, which unbeknownst to me were caused by the lighting. Proof: I recently turned them off after reading the report, and things are back to more or less normal. Now they are a bit off-feed, and after two weeks of only basking lights, I've turned the fluorescent lights back on for a much shorter time. I've also ordered a Solarmeter to check the actual UVA/UVB emissions. According to the "uk" report above Zoo-Med's Reptisun's are not the only bulbs responsible for this problem. At least 40 case histories have been reported. My question is this. WHY ISN'T THERE SOME SORT OF WARNING ON THE PACKAGING THAT ALERTS THE CONSUMER ABOUT POSSIBLE EYE PROBLEMS?
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