Reptile & Amphibian Forums

it it true that red lights or black lights can be used for nighttime viewing.

I tried a black light and saw his pupils narrow so i figure that is false but what about the red light?....i shined a laser pointer on the side of the cage and he seemed interested in it...so does than mean the red light wont work either?

I bought a $2 party light that is red....should i just forget it?

I have used Red, Blue and those kind of light purple aquarium bulbs. They all seem suitable as long as they are dim and not too bright. However you have to watch the temps so the heat from the light doesn't make the enclosure too warm. Just get the lowest wattage blue or red bulb and it should work fine. Maybe put it on a dimmer to dim it our further and also be able to control the heat output. It really is fun to watch them at night. Enjoy!
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Peace!
KofSeattle
Reptile-Like
Here lizard lizard.........

I use low watt Red bulbs above the cages .They are out exactly the same with them on or off. If I try a regular light dimmed even to the point of almost being off some of them will hide.

If you use a blacklight bulb be very very careful.The Spencers gift type bulbs are not the same as the black bulbs sold in pet stores. They can lead to blindness in your animals. (Not too mention they throw off way to much heat for cresteds)

You shouldnt just forget it.They are very entertaining to watch and theres a great deal to learn about the habits of these animals.

i had a ball python that i used a red bulb on at night to keep the temperature up. one thing i noticed, though, was that he rarely came out while the lights were on. when the light was off, he would start emerging at night once more. i would definitely get a dimmer if i were you to minimize the light's effect on behavior.

I don't have a red bulb, so all I do is set my computer (it's a laptop) to a red screensaver and put it next to Gator's cage--now he is EXTREMELY shy and will either run or freeze if anything startles him, either noise or light or movement, and if he freezes he'll stay for hours until it gets dark and quiet and he can relax. The red computer screen doesn't seem to bother him at all and he moves around, eats, climbs, etc, just like you would expect, and it's enough light for me to sit close and watch him. So long story short, give the red bulb a try.
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Sue Barnett
1.0 Florida King (Vega)
0.1 Western hognose (Sola)
1.0 Crested gecko (Gator)
0.1 Egyptian spiny mouse (Mia)
4.2 mini rex rabbits (Basil, Pippin, Reggie, Hayden, Jackie and Peek-a-boo)
0.1 Plott hound (Molly)
1.0 half Arab (Zarr)
1.0 Betta (Flash)