Breeder Rack Question..

[Kellyr]

When you keep a number of animals in a rack... with heat tape or cables for warmth.. how do you provide sufficient uva or uvb lighting to each animal? Is there only heat with no light? Just curious... please and thank you

 

[shadowx362]

leopard geckos dont need UV light and I believe their is some racks that are heated by lights. -

 

[Kristi23]

I only use heat tape on my racks.

 

[goReptiles]

Like Edgar said, they don't need UV lighting. Most racks are made with heat tape to supply belly heat, which is monitored by a thermostat so that it doesn't overheat, which it will if it's not gauged with a thermostat.

 

[lytlesnake]

Yeah they don't really need the ultraviolet light, as they're nocturnal. But it doesn't hurt I suppose. Some racks have an open design, which allows more light overall though. The Vision racks are open on all sides, and I believe the Animal Plastics economy rack is too. The open racks aren't as energy efficient, but they definitely allow the animals more light.

 

[Kellyr]

Wow thanks .. petstores sure do lie!! On pet supply websites they even advertise that leopard geckos need uva AND uvb lighting to properly metabolize their calcium intake... I thought they wouldn't need a light since in nature they hide in shadows under rocks and things..(although I thought maybe they catch the light rays indirectly.. from refraction??) Well all of my tanks have uths and everyone seems to be doing just fine... one tank has a basking bulb. I wish I posted this before I ordered 3 more lamps!! lol Good to know for sure.

 

[lytlesnake]

Ah, no worries. There's nothing wrong with having some lights, though I don't think leopard geckos especially like having a bright bulb right above them all day long.

I had a sick female jungle tremper who was getting thin and wouldn't eat recently. I took her out of the 32 qt. tub and put her in a 10 gal. tank with repti carpet and a UVB bulb. I ran the light during the day time for a few days. I noticed she tried to avoid the light by staying in the shadow of her moist hide though. I don't want to get too off topic, so to conclude that thought, that gecko is doing great and chowing mealies now. I don't know if the UVB light helped to kick start her recovery or not, but I figured it wouldn't hurt.

It's also useful to have the red bulbs for night viewing, and those moonlight bulbs are really cool too.

I do try to get all my reptiles as much natural light as possible in the daytime by opening up the window shades. I'm not talking about direct sunlight beaming right on them though. Some people have theorized that they like to poke out their heads out of their hides in the daytime to get a little sunlight. This could explain why the shape of their head has a lot of surface space, so they can absorb as much light energy as possible in a short period of time. This way they can hide from predators for most of the day, but still get a little UVB, etc...

 

[Kellyr]

I open my shades every day for them, and no one is frying in direct light.. I always thought that would do just fine with the indirect rays.. my albinos HATE the light I know it hurts their eyes.. they are always squinty.. here is something I found related to your reply (lytlesnake) from http://www.thegeckospot.com/leocareindex1.html#light

2.4.1- UV light
Exposure of the skin to sunlight is essential for the synthesis of vitamin D3 (see 2.2.5.1- The science bit for further details). Most people believe that nocturnal species will not benefit from exposure to UV light in captivity. However, it has been shown that in the wild, nocturnal geckos are capable of synthesizing their vitamin D3 more efficiently than other geckos which are active during the day. Nocturnal geckos can synthesize the required D3 by basking for a very short time at sunset/sunrise, when the sun is not so strong. In agreement with this theory I have observed some (not all) of my leopard geckos coming out of their hides and basking for a short time immediately prior to the light going off. Therefore, it may be beneficial to provide a UV light. However, I have also read reports of vision problems in geckos due to exposure to UV lights (I dont know the details of these reports, or whether the affected animals had access to hides to get away from the light). It may be beneficial, and safest, to provide a UV light for a short time at the beginning and end of the day. Most keepers, including myself, however, do not use UV light, proper supplementation of the leos food with vitamins and calcium should be sufficient (see 2.2.5- Supplementation of food with calcium and vitamins).

 

[Im-Perfection-xo]

Some people have theorized that they like to poke out their heads out of their hides in the daytime to get a little sunlight.

I've had my Mack Snow for less than a week at this point (I picked him up on the 15th at an expo in my area.), and he frequently sticks his head out of his hide during the day. He's my first gecko, so seeing him in the day, knowing he's nocturnal, confused me. But that makes alot of sense.

I'm actually gonna get him a set of 2 overhead bulbs to regulate his sleeping patterns so he's awake during the day and asleep at night. I'm getting a funky UVA / UVB light for him, because I figure it won't hurt. It'll simulate a fairly natural setting, and a NightGlo. That should give the little guy everything he needs to be happy and healthy in the lighting department.

 

[lytlesnake]

I'm actually gonna get him a set of 2 overhead bulbs to regulate his sleeping patterns so he's awake during the day and asleep at night.

So you're gonna keep the room dark during the day time and then simulate day time at night? I don't know if that works, it will be interesting to see. I think that even though they're living in captivity, they know when it's night or day outside.

 

[Im-Perfection-xo]

So you're gonna keep the room dark during the day time and then simulate day time at night? I don't know if that works, it will be interesting to see. I think that even though they're living in captivity, they know when it's night or day outside.

It is possible, as long as I block out most of the sunlight. Which isn't a problem, my boyfriend is nocturnal anyway. I read up about it on another site, and it's just a matter of whether you want to deal with changing their sleeping patterns artificially or not.

I had originally decided I wasn't going to, but then I realized since his home is in my boyfriend's room, I'd never see him.