Posted by:
cheshireycat
at Sun Nov 21 02:30:56 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by cheshireycat ]
You need a UVA/UVB lamp over a screen top. Flourescents are the most widely used, but they have to be for this purpose and have to be changed around every six months.
Sunlight is far better, but not always an option. And the UV light won't penetrate well through glass or plastic, so you have to place the lamp over the mesh lid. For sunlight, it would have to be a tank that is at least 2 sides (top not included) of screen so as to not overheat.
Without the UV lighting, most, if not all, diurnal reptiles are not able to produce the vitamin D3 needed for calcium absorbtion. I think UVB in particular, or UVB more so than UVA, but I can't remember right now. A simple Google search should yield results, and there is information about this on the anole site linked to by Kingsnake (in the caresheets section).
Appropriate lighting is essential--improper lighting is a very common cause of metabolic bone disease. ----- Got hips like Cinderella / Must be having a good shame / Talking sweet about nothing / Cookie I think you're Tame 
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