Reptile & Amphibian Forums

if humidity and heat where controlled perfectly where the snakes will have a hot and cool side to their bins, what do you think of ultra violet "black light" as a light source? for one thing i have heard from several people that their snakes respond extremely well to black light. they eat better and they seem to be happier with it plus uv light wont allow certain bacteria to grow. (this is what i was told). im just curious to see what you all think about this thought...
i got a new job that pays "okay"...haha... and we are really serious about breeding ball pythons, so we are going to start building out new snake rack system real soon.
thank you very much for taking the time to read this and my other posts!
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Under a dead ohio sky,
Eleven has been and will be waiting,
Defending his light,
And wondering...
Where the hell have I been?
Sleeping, lost, and numb.
So glad that I have found you.
I am wide awake and heading home.
TOOL

I cannot remember why but I read somewhere that it was a bad idea. I had considered it myself but something I found on the net made me glad that I didn't do it. I wish I could remember what it was! I would say that red/blue light or no light at night should be fine for making them comfortable and will not have any negatives at all. A good cleaning schedule will be plenty to keep bad bacteria down. I doubt that any of the big breeders use black light.
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With a name like Scrotbelly, it has to be good ;o)

I used to use blacklights for some custom boa cages and a general heat source for several tupperwares. Several years ago I had a bunch of tupperwares stacked and I used to blacklights(not really black lights but moonlights designed for reptiles) pointed at the end of the cages, It was great for creating a warm end of the cage, and didn't bother me at night because the light wasn't very visible. Just remember it doesn't change the ambient air temperature, it only heats what it falls on.

Cole Maas

you are right about the cleaning. we clean our cages out once every week. if one cage has already been cleaned it will be cleaned again along with the others.
thank you for replying back!
-----
Under a dead ohio sky,
Eleven has been and will be waiting,
Defending his light,
And wondering...
Where the hell have I been?
Sleeping, lost, and numb.
So glad that I have found you.
I am wide awake and heading home.
TOOL