Again I am not trying to be argumentative only trying to offer other opinions. Additionally I understand that FR is talking about Monitors in the below information however I believe Tegus at similar enough animals to go with the same theory. Please also understand Frank has tremendous experience to back up his thoughts and observations.
Frank's words from the KS monitor forum: Fri Nov 19 22:44:11 2004
I have explained how we came to use lites 24/7. Lets try again. For the first 6 or 7 years of successfully keeping and breeding monitors, we used lites, on in the day, and off at night. But thanks to my experience with wild and other types of captive reptiles, I already understood how they use heatsinks. So I provided heatpads at night. They will use heatpads without a problem as a heatsink.
As time went by and my collection multiplied, I had many many cages and keeping track to see if the pads were working became a problem. I could not tell if they were working or not, by glancing.
Also, I grew tired of replacing heatpads, left and right. So, as a quick fix, I would leave the lites on, well over time, I saw no problems with this, in fact, I saw several benefits.
Now to change the subject a little, you see your three monitors, you have givin them names based on behavior. Do you really think one is shy or bashfull? In most cases, thats a reaction to lack of direction. The shy ones, have no options. (remember, this is only an example, it doesn't matter why or what you named them)
Please consider, there is a active dynamics in your cage. To call one dominate or another the opposite, shy or recessive, is not very accurate or useful. What we have seen is, the cage lacks options. In nature, the less successful individual, will go find a home of its own. In your cage, you do not allow this. Well the next best option is to provide, a second choice. This is the ability to avoid the others and bask or feed at another time.
Why its not useful or accurate to call one dominate or recessive. Well, its momentarily accurate, but if allowed, the recessive ones can and do gain strenght and can and do completely dominate the "dominate" individual. The point of 24/7 lites is, to allow more choices of basking. May I add, in a cage thats too small and lacks options. Which I believe, includes almost all of the cages we keepers have. I imagine the best choice is to put them in a 20 foot long cage. But thats really not going to happen very often is it? Yes I am talking about ackies. And yes, I did keep them in a cage 20 x 20 x 10 foot tall, it seems they have a chase distance of about 15 feet, give or take a few feet.
With the above said, my concern is, confusing a litebulb with the sun. I do not think monitors think or treat a litebulb as the sun. I also believe, they "feel" the sun coming up and going down. Buts thats a story for another time. The real facts are, our monitors do down in the evening and come up to bask in the mourning, no matter what the lites are doing. Except, when for reasons not well understood, they move at night without lites of any sort.
Now please, I do not think I know it all or anything like that, I simply have monitors completeing life events, in natural sun with a natural photoperiod, under lites 24/7 and using lites with an artificial photoperiod. And have for a very long period. Which should mean, I do have an opinion, and if my opinion is different then others who do not have this experience, then thats how it should be.
Above i said, artificial photo-period, yup, thats right, natural photo-period changes each and every day and uses the sun. Artificial photoperiod, is set for long periods and uses a litebulb(not the sun) Thanks again, FR
Actual post
I tried to keep my mouth shut, didn't work.
