...with all due resepct.

OK, this is the last I say on the matter because there are clearly way too many experts here that have done the research and know more than everyone else:

If boas and pythons needed UVB the way that diurnal lizards, turtles, and tortoises did, then there would be a lot of people in this forum with sick, deformed, malnourished snakes. Diurnal reptiles need UVB to produce Vitamin D3 and thus absorb calcium into their bones. Snakes however (along with most geckos) have evolved to survive without UVB. I read a few years ago that snakes were found to have scales that were too thick to absorb most UVB rays --in other words, they have their own built-in sun block.

- Do you own a Solarmeter? If you do, or have access to one, take shed skin samples from different species and measure UVB penetration.

If anything, UVB can be dangerous to albino snakes because they have no melanin in their eyes to protect them from the ultraviolet radiation, causing them to go blind. Especially something as high as 10.0 UVB which is ONLY for use in desert animals.

- Why are 10.0 ONLY for desert animals? What do you understand about UV lamps? I will refer you to the following website for some help: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/ And before you refer me to the "warning" about 5.0 and 10.0 tubes I should tell you that we now understand a little more about what was going wrong with such tubes (i.e. keeping animals eyes open) and how to counter this.


Here is an exerpt from that website:

"More research is needed as to the relationship between UV light and vitamin D3 metabolism in the snake. Traditionally, nocturnal and crepuscular snakes are not thought to require UV light. However, there would not seem to be any reason why they should not be able to utilise it for vitamin D3 synthesis. Is there any difference in transmission of UV between the skin of nocturnal and diurnal species of snake?

Snakes such as the forest-dwelling kingsnakes, which live in shaded habitats and are often active at night, might be expected to have skin which allows a high degree of UVB penetration; and indeed, this does seem to be the case; the skin from several species transmitted 45% or more of the UVB.

However, the inverse relationship between skin permeability and the amount of sun to which the reptile exposes itself does not seem as straightforward in snakes as it does in lizards.

Garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis), for example, are diurnal and often seen basking in morning sun, in a wide range of habitats across Canada and the USA from Alaska to Texas. Surprisingly, skin from the back of the snake would appear to transmit a similar proportion of UV light as that of the back of a leopard gecko. The skin on the belly was even more translucent, allowing 56% of the UVB through.

The skin of boas and pythons (with normal pigmentation) is much more protective. The skin of the Argentine Boas (Boa constrictor occidentalis), for example, permitted only 18% transmission . This is a nocturnal snake of the forest, grassland and scrub of Paraguay and Argentina; one might have expected a more "transparent" skin. It is tempting to speculate that these snakes, although active at night, do not hide away during daylight but rather, rest in well-lit tree branches where they are exposed to significant amounts of scattered UV light, if not direct sunlight."

Regardless of how much UVB a snake can actually absorb through it's scales, I've never heard of any major boa/python breeders using UVB on their snakes (constrictors unlimited, bob clark, pete kahl, etc) and their snakes seem to be doing just fine.

- With all due respect boid husbandry is still a relatively new science. The breeders you mention may not use UV, but like I said in my previous post, this DOES NOT mean that UVB isn't beneficial to snake physiology / behaviour. We just don't know enough. Have you ever conducted any research to back up your statements? Have you ever heard of the 25-hydroxy vitamin D test? Have you ever used UV lamps on boids? And like I said in my other post, have YOU ever seen a wild boid? We are quick to label boids as "nocturnal" and yet that often couldn't be farther from the truth. I have worked for 5 years in the Colombian Amazon and 2 years in the Caribbean, and I've seen ALOT of wild boids over the years.

I think you would be surprised about the number of boid keepers that DO use UV on their animals. Diamond python breeders have used it for years, as have many Sanzinia keepers. I personally wouldn't keep my Boelen's or Diamond's without some access to UV.

I am certain that one day, the research will back up what I am trying to get at here, and that is that UVB IS beneficial to (certainly some including Boa spp., Epicrates spp., Python spp., Liasis spp., Morelia spp.) boids. Until such research is available (and it may take many years) people have to realise that you simply cannot make the sort of definitive statements that you make in your post!
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