Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a rather shy Diamond Python. I recently replaced the ceramic heat emitter globe with an exo-terra 'infra red' heat lamp. I was told that as reptiles cannot pick up red light, it would not interfere with its nocturnal behaviour. So far, however, this seems wrong. Whenever I turn on the red light (in the dark) the pythong will freeze in its tracks. I then back right away from the tank until I can barely see the snake. Even so, the snake ever so slowly retreats into its hide and refuses to come out again while the red light is on.
Any idea why this might be? I've waited and waited, but he'll never come out so long as the lights on. Once its off, hes out withing minutes. Very fristrating.

Also, I was under the impression that proper infra-red was not detectable by humans either. So is this exo-terra infra red heat globe just a red light bulb??

not emit any wavelengths in the visible spectrum and therefore would be invisible in the dark. All light bulbs regardless of color are emitting infrared along with the predominant wavelength of whatever color they appear. Heat bulbs like you describe rely on the incandescent filament within the bulb to supply the heat and therefore emit quite a bit of visible light as well. You are correct in that the exo-terra bulb is just a colored light bulb, and due to the high wattage required for heat production, it also emits a fair amount of visible light. Even though the color is red, the intensity of the light is still high and quite apparent to your python. Red light typically does not bother most nocturnal animals if the intensity is low enough. For observing nocturnal behavior, I have used very low wattage incandescent red bulbs that emit just enough light to see the subject. These fit a standard socket and are only 7.5 watts, and can be found in most hardware stores. Almost no heat is radiated by them, but just enough light to see. The intensity is so low that most animals are not effected by them. They are for low intensity light only, and you will need a separate, non-light emitting heat source to go with them if you need a night heat source.

Kelly

ZooMed has a "nightlight" red bulb...it emits much less light than other brands. So little that I didn't think it was working for a few seconds when I fired it up... http://www.zoomed.com/html/nightlight_red.php
-----
JOHN H in NH