Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi, i am going to pick up an incandescent strip and a red (or blue) nighttime bulb tomorrow. my question is: i have the UTH and the thermostat all set up fine, and do not wish to incorperate the light into the heating factor. i merely am going to use it when i feed my gecko at around 11-12am in a completely dark room to help me see better (i hate to keep having to use a flashlight). i just wanted to ask what wattage of a night bulb would allow me to see well enough in a dark room (not too dim) but also not heat up the tank a significant amount in about the 10-15 min it will be on. i am thinking about going with a 30W, please let me know if that is too much or too dim. also is there a better choice between red and blue for human eyes? thanks.

I used to use a 30 watt and could see fine with it. It will raise the temp slightly in 10-15 minutes, but not enough to worry about it. The temp will return to normal quickly after turning off the light. You can also put a high watt red incandesent in a normal spotlamp(like a desk lamp) outside of the cage and direct it towards the cage from several feet away. This is handy if you have more than one cage or if you just want a higher wattage without the added heat.

yea, i couldnt find a small light stripe anywhere, so i got a desklamp, because i have no where to clip a clamping fixture. but i tried a 40watt blue light (tubular) and could see nothing, so tomorrow i am going to return that and try a 50 watt red spotlight (round), and see if that gets me any brighter results, otherwise the bulb goes back again, and the lamp goes back to target. i found a small book light that puts out normal yellow light in a small area, so i can "work" in that light, and not let the light hit the gecko directly. thanks.