Best Bulb For Albinos?

[Nimbose]

I have a male APTOR and, despite some people saying Leopard Geckos aren't disturbed by red light, mine clearly is. He squints, his pupils react to the light and he won't come out at all if I use a red light. I made sure it was an infrared bulb, and it was even designed for use at night, but it made no difference.

I currently use an Exo Terra 75W Moonglow bulb, but I find it doesn't give enough light for him to be properly observed. It's quite dark... Yet I know he doesn't react to the blue light. Are there any other options? I need a bulb that also gives off a good amount of heat, yet won't disturb his sensitive eyes. :c

As a side note, when I first got him and was a newbie to Leos, the guy at the store gave me a normal bulb you'd use in your house. What the hell, right?​

 

[Akari_32]

I feed my Dreamsicle with the room lights on, and she has a 50 watt moonlight bulb. She's got pretty bad enigma syndrome, but doesn't show much sensitivity light. Either that or she's just used to it. She doesn't see well, and I think the room light being on helps her see her food a little better.

 

[Nimbose]

I feed my Dreamsicle with the room lights on, and she has a 50 watt moonlight bulb. She's got pretty bad enigma syndrome, but doesn't show much sensitivity light. Either that or she's just used to it. She doesn't see well, and I think the room light being on helps her see her food a little better.

Aw, poor baby... I had no idea what Enigma Syndrome was so I did a quick search; sounds awful. Thank goodness she has someone who cares to look after her!

I don't think Theo has any issues with sight; he always spots the crickets from the opposite side of his vivarium. His only issue is sensitivity to harsh light, I think. I just get frustrated because I searched for answers around the time when I first got him and everyone suggested a red light, but that doesn't seem to be correct in this case. It seems to be that I'll just have to deal with not seeing him very well in his vivarium unless someone comes up with an answer...

 

[Akari_32]

I love how the moonlight bulbs look, personally. Of course, Amelia is pink, so the black light picks up on it really well. I've got one on my tangerines tank, and it looks good too. I hate the red lights, myself. I'd say its more of a personal preference. Another option would be colored LEDs, but they don't put out any heat.

 

[Nimbose]

I love how the moonlight bulbs look, personally. Of course, Amelia is pink, so the black light picks up on it really well. I've got one on my tangerines tank, and it looks good too. I hate the red lights, myself. I'd say its more of a personal preference. Another option would be colored LEDs, but they don't put out any heat.

It looks alright when the lights are off in the room, but during the day it's hard to see my boy. I have a wooden vivarium so no other light gets in there, so... Maybe it's just my eyes. It's not important of course, I was just wondering whether there was any other options! uvu

I'll look into LEDs but I'll have to be careful; might end up too bright combined with his bulb... Hmn.

 

[lisa127]

When I was using a heat bulb I found the same to be true. My gecko hated the red lights but had no problem with the black/blue lights.

 

[Phantom240]

If you're worried about heat, get a ceramic emitter. As for light, I'd stick with the moonglo. No need to stress your gecko in an attempt to observe him. You'll just have to get used to it, lol.

 

[lisa127]

Why get a ceramic emitter and a separate moonglo for light? The moonglo provides both light and heat.

 

[Nimbose]

Why get a ceramic emitter and a separate moonglo for light? The moonglo provides both light and heat.

Yeah, exactly... Pfft.

I'd have to buy a seperate thermostat for a ceramic heater, anyway. That'd be kind of expensive. With the bulb and heatmat, the temperature is perfect.

 

[Phantom240]

Why get a ceramic emitter and a separate moonglo for light? The moonglo provides both light and heat.

The Moonglo bulbs don't produce a whole lot of heat, do they? I'm not too experienced with them in higher wattages, honestly.

 

[Nimbose]

The Moonglo bulbs don't produce a whole lot of heat, do they? I'm not too experienced with them in higher wattages, honestly.

I only use the heat mat and Moonglo bulb for heating and it raises the vivarium temperature into the 80s, so they definitely provide sufficient heat! c:

The probe for the gradient temperature is set in the middle of the viv, while the bulb is on the far right, and it picks up a temperature of 80-81 degrees It's currently Winter in my home with no central heating on... So, yeah! A nice heat going on. It's obviously warmer on the side of the bulb and heatmat, but I don't have a probe on that side. Theo seems to be quite comfortable there, however.

In the Summer it gets into the high 80s, which is when I need to keep an eye on it or switch to a lower wattage. They go as low as 15W, I think...

 

[lisa127]

Moonglo bulbs put out just as much heat as any other incandescent bulb of the same wattage.

 

[Phantom240]

Didn't know that. Guess ya learn something every day, don't you?

 

[VampyreByte]

Why are you using a bulb in the first place. None of my geckos have lights, just natural light from the window. The only heat they need is from heat mats. If your gecko doesn't do good with light then you should probably get rid of it all together.

 

[Nimbose]

Why are you using a bulb in the first place. None of my geckos have lights, just natural light from the window. The only heat they need is from heat mats. If your gecko doesn't do good with light then you should probably get rid of it all together.

I use blue bulbs and he doesn't react to them (should have stated that in the opening post, oops). Only the red and normal ones. I could hold him right up to the blue bulb and his eyes don't seem to detect any light. Fully dilated pupils. It's the red and normal bulbs I have issues with.

Anyway, I don't use them for light in the first place (that was what I was looking for in this thread; a blue bulb that made it easier to see him), I use them primarily for heat. If I only used a heat mat, it would be far too cold. It's Winter and it would cause the temperature in his vivarium to drop into the 60s when it should be in the mid 80s. Depending on where you live, just having a heat mat and nothing else isn't suitable.

I have a heat mat in there too, but it doesn't produce enough heat to create a suitable gradient in his vivarium.

Lucky for your geckos that they don't need it, but mine does. 8I

Also, he gets no natural light in his vivarium. It's wooden and the glass panel isn't facing the window.

 

[Phantom240]

My two girls need a bit of supplemental heat to keep the air temps acceptable, as my room stays pretty cool in the evenings due to the routing of the air conditioner ducting and my fan.

 

[bohannbj]

If you don't mind a little DIY then you should check out rapidled.com. You can buy a small setup of dimmable leds and pick whatever colors you want. I used them to create my setup and they helped me all the way through it. I made a thread with my old setup but since then I have made it nicer. I'm thinking about putting a single bulb in each of my caging units. Let me know if I can help you.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

IMO a bit too cold is better than a bit too hot for these guys (within reason!!) As long as they have a warm enough spot for their belly on the floor. I would only use a bulb if your air temps are getting under 65 degrees for an extended period - like more than 72 hours straight. Other than that I think they are unnecessary and stress geckos (especially albinos) and dry out enclosures.

 

[Phantom240]

I'll be getting a small CHE for both of my enclosures this winter. The house gets really cold because my roommates like to bundle up lol