Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it bad to use regular light bulbs? My other one burnt out and I've been using a regular one, if its okay to use them what watts should you use?

Maybe I'm just the worst keeper on this forum but, Your supposed to use "special" lights? I use a light used for indoor plants(35 watts).

Is that bad? What should I use?
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1.0 Ball Python
1.0 Burmese Python

The type bulb has nothing to do with burm husbandry.
What's important is, that the wattage of the bulb you are using is hot enough to get the temps of the enclosure up to where they need to be.
For this, I would prefer a special bulb, only because they are more efficient than a household bulb.
If you are using a powerful enough uth, a bulb wont be neccesary for heat.
In time, you will need a big enclosure for your burm.
A uth alone, or bulb alone wont be able to heat an enclosure that big. Well, maybe if you used a 150w, or 200wt, but that is very inefficient.
The only way to decide if your wattage is high enough...is trial and error.
I'm not sure a 35 w bulb is enough. I am heating my 4 ft enclosures with a 75w infrared bulb, and a uth running constantly in a 75* room, and that gets the temps where I want.

I have a 4ft burm and he is in 2x2x4 foot cage and i am useing
a 150 watt sun glow but my rt boas are useing a 100 watt house bulb
. Burms are fine with a house bulb if it can get your temp up high
enough.

I use full spectrum flourescent lighting that contains UVA and UVB wavelengths. This mimics the suns rays. Is it required for burms? No, but I think it is probably preferred for the burm over a household incadescent light.

>>Is it bad to use regular light bulbs? My other one burnt out and I've been using a regular one, if its okay to use them what watts should you use?

Burms are nocturnal, so they gain no benefit from full spectrum lighting. The only reason lighting is installed in snake enclosures are either for heat, or so we can see our animals.

Yes burms are nocturnal, that goes without saying. But heat and seeing the animals arent the only reasons you would want lighting. You want to provide a photoperiod for your burm. It is beneficial to the burms overall health to have a day/night cycle as exists in nature.

>>Burms are nocturnal, so they gain no benefit from full spectrum lighting. The only reason lighting is installed in snake enclosures are either for heat, or so we can see our animals.

I guess I'm looking at my own setup. I have major windows (6ft) in the herproom, so my photoperiod is not an issue.The photoperiod I use cannot get anymore natural that it is.
But other than photoperiods, I believe there is no benefit from UV light.I keep only one snake with a dayligt bulb... an adult jungle carpet.It is only a 60wt bulb, and I use because, I never bought another bulb.He does bask under it, but only because he has to to get enough heat. His cage faces the wiondow...he's actually about 4ft away.
Think of some rack systems...does each level have its own light?
Yet some snakes live out their entire being in a rack.
Some live their entire life with the room light being their only light.
Any breeders want to comment on this?

Just spent a some time going through my books on Burms.Only one of them even mentions lighting. And that was dealing with changing the photoperiod to increase breeding success.
Vosjoli's book does'nt mention lighting at all.
NERD's website care sheet states " supplemental lighting is not needed."
I guess it is a matter of preference, and what works for us.

Right. Like I mentioned in my first post they dont require light. Breeders keep hatchlings in rack systems with no lighting (as you mentioned). Some owners dont use light either. I myself did not use any lighting until recently. But I think it is beneficial to have a photoperiod. Your setup seems adequate since you have windows in front of your cages. Mine are in a basement with no windows in the room so I wanted them to have light in the room during half the day. In my opinion, the more we mimic nature in our setups/husbandry, the more content the reptile.

>>Just spent a some time going through my books on Burms.Only one of them even mentions lighting. And that was dealing with changing the photoperiod to increase breeding success.
>>Vosjoli's book does'nt mention lighting at all.
>>NERD's website care sheet states " supplemental lighting is not needed."
>>I guess it is a matter of preference, and what works for us.

Acctually my temps are the least of my problems. I get about 85 - 90 degrees easy. Humidity is my problem. I didn't think light was a major issue though.
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1.0 Ball Python
1.0 Burmese Python