Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Im gonna be building a snakeroom soon, and Im gonna have all my snakes kept in Critter Cages. I really want to have each cage well displayed so the animals colors stand out real well, so I want to shy away from plain old incandescent lighting and plain old flourescent as well. I would imagine there is some other kind of bulb (either incand. or floures.) that is geared towards true coloring, like the Vita-lites or whatever. So to keep out the trial and error part, does anyone have any practical advice on what has worked best for them?
I'll prolly have ther tanks set up on a long shelf unit I'll build down the entire length of a wall, maybe 2 or 3 stories high, so having a large 4 foot fixture for flourescent tubes doesnt bother me. I just wanna know what bulbs will make the snakes look their best.
I guess Im looking to recreate sunlight really.
Thanx in advance for your help/experiences
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Tom
TCJ Herps
"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

I like halogens, although you might need to use the low-voltage variety to preven the cages from melting. You're using the thin, acrylic cages, right?
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

1.2 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

7.5 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

0.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black & Tan)

No, I think you're thinking of the little plastic cages that a lot of people take to the pet store when they need to bring mice home, or they keep hermit crabs in.
Im talking about All Glass Critter Cages. With the black tops and sliding screens. Comes with a little plastic plug to keep the top from sliding open.
I've had bad luck with halogen lighting before, and you and I discussed this once I think. I need to go to home depot and try out the type that was suggested, the Lowes stuff I bought turned out to be junk.
I'll keep the halogens in mind, thanx!
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Tom
TCJ Herps
"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"

If your talking about best color for viewing in the room, test out one of the blue color grow bulbs. I've had good experience with those in display cages and aquariums. If your talking about best color or most accurate color when taking pictures then check into fluorescents that are 5000K (5000 kelvin). That's equivalent to daylight. Halogens are real bright and seem to be real white light but they add lots of orange to photos. You really need to learn how to set a custom white balance on a digital camera to get accurate colors.
John

Ok, thanx. It's not really for photography purposes, it's just that the room I'll be putting the snakes in will have no windows at all for security reasons and temperature control. I really just wanna have the animals accurately seen in their true colors. I'll look into the blue bulbs you mentioned.
Many thanx!
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Tom
TCJ Herps
"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"