Heat is needed to be able to digest food, UVB is needed to synthesise calcium or something like that...basically, without UVB lights and/or supplements with d3, the animal can't use any calcium it takes in. Some choose to use just calcium with d3, some choose to use both (I do), but I wouldn't reccomend going without calcium with d3. I suppose some people in warm climates can keep their reptiles outside in the sunlight all of the time, and only then you should use calcium without d3 (using calcium with d3 when the animals are already getting ample d3 from the sunlight can actually cause problems).



I suppose the right amounts of light/UVA probably help trigger whether it's a good time to bask or not. Lower light/UVA usually goes along with bad weather and lower temperatures. That's just my take on it. Sometimes when it's bad weather, my room will get darker, and that triggers their instinct to stop basking, because conditions aren't good. I believe they also probably rely on atmospheric pressure to determine how good the weather is.

[ Show Entire Thread ]