Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Listen I have been dealing with collareds for several years, if you have Beardies, or some other lizard, I don't mean this conversation to apply to those species. Over the years I have come to a gut feeling or conclusion having observed many collared lizard species in captivity, I suspect that some of our lighting we use may be hazardous to the eyes of Collareds? Does anyone remotely have an inclination about this. I have used the florescent 10.0. I moved away from the mercury vapor spot type of bulb, but I may drop my light choice down to a 7.0. Over the years I have bred and grown up many species of lizards on 5.0 and 7.0 bulbs, I am not saying the other choices don't apply to other species, but I think its more important to have the right incandescent lighting and temps and supplement in conjunction with a UVB bulb, preferably for me that would be a florescent, that just my choice and not putting anyone down. Most of my lizards I put out in the natural sunlight, but some of my babies I raise in artificial light. Does any one have an inclination about this? I know that lower rated bulbs do just fine with many South Western desert lizards as I have bred horned lizards, racerunners, Orcutti swifts, you name it. But I have also noted that some lizards actually shy away form UVB spot bulbs and I have noted that colalred lizards do get issues with their eyes. Maybe you think I'm off on this, thats o.k., I just know that the hype about some of these bulbs are questionable in the face of being able to breed many different species on a lower level UVB bulb, coupled with a little supplementation and proper lighting and heat in the cage. I am intersted in anyone ideas.....
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www.phrynosoma.org

Hey Lou,

I know some of the lightning can hurt chameleons eyes. I also use repti-sun 10.0 on all my tanks an personally have never seen a problem with my collareds eyes. The only eye problems I have ever seen in all the years messing with lizards is from sand , or a resp infection that causes them to close it temporality. I do also take my lizards outside weather permitting in spring summer and fall, for natural sun-light.

I stopped using the mercury vapors, maybe they are better, but I think they get way to hot, I can't even touch the light fixture when a MVB is is on for any length of time. So I stick to the f- tubes as well.

I know we have spoken about collareds eyes and problems in emails, but I just have not seen any problems with eyes. I have had more problems over the years with wild caughts and internal parasites than anything else.

It certainly is better to breed your own captive breds from your own groups rather than to bring in wild caughts, if at all possible. That sometimes causes problems for people.

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Eve
Suncharmers Colorful Collareds & More

My favorite bulb is Lumichrome CRI 98 6500K. I hope to have a UVB reading on this bulb soon. I've used it for decades with excellent results. I've raised baby box turtles to five years old with no shell deformities or bone problems. I've also raised several other types of lizards including alligator lizards and collared lizards, again with no problems.

Other animals that thrive under Lumichrome bulbs include rough green snakes, anoles and desert iguanas. Lumichrome tried to get a foothold in the pet industry about 30 years ago but settled into the full-spectrum household bulb market. You can find Lumichrome bulbs at Budget Lighting (budgetlighting.com). Their web site is not easy to navigate and it's best to type "lumichrome" into the search box at the top of the home page. That will take you to the lumichrome section.

I just use an ordinary incandescent lamp bulb for heat. A 30-watt bulb in a ceiling attachment over the basking area provides all the heat needed. A fan at that end of the cage vents the heat from the bulb and prevents heat creep from warming the entire cage. Lizards can bask as long as they like and move away from the bulb to cooler areas until it's time to bask again.

Hi Lou… Hey I personally do not like Mercury Vapor bulbs for UVB/UVA lighting and heating with my Collareds. I’ve been raising and breeding them for nearly 11 years now and as desert dwellers they do need the proper desert heat with good strong/intense UVA/UVB lighting. I stick by the 10.0 Reptisun UVA/UVB fluorescent bulbs along with the incandescent heat/light bulbs for indoor/artificial lighting/heating. I recommend a minimum 7.0 but prefer 10.0.

The closest distance from the bulbs that I allow my lizards to get on average is about 6” from the bulbs. It will vary between about 6” and about 15” or 16” away depending on where they are in the enclosures – I’ve never had any issues with their eyes, MBD, burns, blisters or any of those types of issues with using Reptisun 10.0 or 7.0. I believe the type, age and intensity of the bulb, the size of the enclosure, the exposure time the Collareds are active in the lighting (for example I use a 13 hr daylight/heating cycle and 11 hour nighttime lights/heat off cycle), and the average distances of the animals from the bulbs, the placement angles of the bulbs (my lights are placed on top/at top of tanks pointing downwards into enclosures NOT pointed at angles), etc., all come into play with using the bulbs to provide the proper UVA/UVB for the Collareds.

But as I said I don’t like Mercury Vapor bulbs or even some types of fluorescent bulbs because the intensity can be too strong for most indoor setups where the animals will be too close to the bulbs and could possibly be over-exposed to UVB and too much heat. Very large, deep tanks are recommended where the MV bulbs are placed several feet away from the animals (that is based on recommendations by the manufacturers to avoid possibly causing burns, blisters, internal organ damage, eye problems, over-heating, etc. Mercury Vapor lights in my opinion are not designed for small enclosures for reptiles to be exposed to the bulbs by only a few inches from the lights, especially the higher intensity/wattage ones. I have tried Mercury Vapor a few times in the past and to this day I believe using an MV contributed to the death of one of my Collared’s many years ago. I used it on a young female for about 6 months and she developed and died from liver-cirrhosis – back then I wasn’t knowledgeable enough on the proper use of MV. My tank was also too small for the MV and I know the bulb was placed too close to her on a daily basis. So after she became sick and died I stopped using MV and since then I have never had that problem re-occurring. Now MV bulbs are supposed to be manufactured with better technology, and with proper use as recommended by the manufacturers they are supposed to be the best artificial UVA/UVB lighting/heating bulbs.

Using natural sunlight for UVA/UVB exposure is recommended for the best natural results and is by far the one recommended when it is practical for the keeper and the climate permits. (I do give my Collareds some natural sunlight when the climate permits it and I have time on weekends). But again I’m not sure if I’ll ever make the switch to MV because it’s hard to change a practice that really works. Especially when it has to do with one of the most important health husbandry issues such as providing Collareds the proper UVA/UVB for good health, longevity, and their well being. Just some ideas from my experience for you to ponder, and good luck in your continued success with your Collareds and your other reptiles.

Jeff

Thanks for your opinions, I have been using the 10.0 but what I am thinking, is that their isn't anything wrong with a10.0 (I currently have one in my warm-up cage inside the house), one of my areas of great success has been with fringe-toes and all horned lizards. Of course many other lizards as well, but I have very successfully bred many of these species with 7.0 and I wonder how much a 10.0 is really better than or necessary over a 7.0. Certainly it seems that you all have got what has been working excellently for you and so thats a proven thing. I notice that some breeders have not used UVB bulbs with the lizards and have just supplemented them with very good results. For me I think they need the extra bulb. It would be interesting to see someone do a study on the bulbs... I have noticed that UVB high intensity bulbs lizards seem to shy away from the bulb or just stay on the periphery. So glad to get your feedback. Thought I'd throw that out there. I have a lot of breeding success with collareds, in fact almost 100%, but once they are about 2 months old, I have had issues, which is what Eve was discussing above, she has helped come to our rescue several times, but then I have lost some as well, more than what one would be comfortable. So I have made the outside cages and that has made a big difference in the young, and also took them out of my garage, as for some reason they seemed to get some kind of issue when in the garage, inspite of every cleaning and you name it, it seemed the garage, was not a good place to keep them.

I am having a better shot at it now that I keep them mostly in the natural sun and out of the garage. Recently after finding a few mice in the garage, I did the glue pad thing which i hate to do... I found that I had many mice in the garage, I mean many... So I suspect but just don't know for sure that it is possible the mice may have been attracted to the cages because of heat, also the wire on the top is 1/4", and maybe somehow these guys were being exposed to the mice. I had no idea I had that many in my garage. This house is only 5 years old but I live out in the country, where we have everything under the sun and then some. I am now working on plugging up any possible holes, going through my stuff and putting them in plastic containers, and trying to generally tidy up the garage, but I have noticed a change and anticipate this coming year will be better....

So the good the bad, and the ugly with me here in Texas..... I will be waking up my animals in another week or so, as I see we are out of the cold spell and starting up to the mid 70's and hope fully 80's soon. The male I just woke up is doing well and eating well. Looks really good.
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www.phrynosoma.org