Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just thought I'd share the experience that I had with using a blacklight for night light/heat.

I replaced my burned out 60-watt, red, lightbulb with a 60-watt blacklight to see which one I liked best. After a few days I noticed my Gecko wasn't very active at night (or day). I didn't find anything wrong with the Gecko from a visual inspection so I continued to monitor it over the next few days while trying to think of something that I did or didn't do within the last week that could cause it to become inactive. Cage temps have been fine as I monitor it regularly.

I finally thought about my putting in the blacklight and bought a new red one that day. That night my Gecko was practically doing cartwheels in its cage. It was as active as usual.

Before buying the blacklight I researched their use. I found that some people recommended against using them, even though they, tehmselves, said there wasn't any scientific proof that blacklights were bad for animals. I was somewhat hesistant, myself, because of all the wives' tales about blacklights when they became popular in the late 60's/early 70's.

Do blacklights pose a danger to the health of some or all animals? Based on my experience, at least, in a 'round-about way, yes, its possible. While it may or may not cause any physical harm to them, it certainly did something that caused inactivity, which, to me, could pose a danger to their health.

Just sharing!

Have a great day!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.

Thanks! I was trying to figure out what I wanted to use between a black and a red for night viewing, and I guess you've made the decission for me.

Have you spent a decent amount of time in blacklight? Ever noticed how it made you feel? Multiply that by ten and you start to get an idea how an animal feels under it.
Sunglasses are sold based on how much UV light they block, sunblocks the same thing. I must profess ignorance on whether blacklights are more UVA vs. UVB, but I do know they are slightly more preferable than strobe lights, which as I recall, were also quite popular with hippies in the late 60s/early 70s.
But not with most reptiles.

"Have you spent a decent amount of time in blacklight?

Heh! Not recently. And back in the days that I did I unfortunately had subjected my body to conditions that would've hindered any memory thereof.

As for them being prefered over strobe lights, well...., I don't have a Disco Leo, nor do I intend to convert it to such. There won't be any Bee Gees music played in this house! (Just pickin' at ya!)

Seriously, though, I don't have the time to get into a deep debate about how safe blacklights are for reptiles. Anyone can feel free to use this thread to do so, though, its just that I don't have the time for it and its not something I feel lead to do.

I was merely sharing my experience with a blacklight & my Leopard Gecko. Other Geckos, or reptiles may do fine with it. Mine didn't like it.

I've got to go remodel my bedroom. I'm putting in several blacklights and a strobe light and unpacking my Bruce Lee and other psychedelic posters from the early 70's. Oh, and I've got to dust off my Bee Gees LP record collection.

Have a great day!
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.