Do you think it'll be beneficial to have some full-spectrum fluorescent tubes install to my gecko room? I was reading up beardie care and came across the info about how some reptile need UVA to see things in color. Otherwise, everything to them is just brown. There are some full spectrum tubes on the market that claims will emit the beneficial long wave length UVA; do you think geckos will do better under these lights? Yea, I know they're nocturnal, but I keep mine in glass tanks with no lid; sometimes they do come out before the sun is down. I just thought since I'm working on my beardie enclosure, I might as well change out the lights in my gecko room.
Full spectrum lights
- Thread starter gothra
- Start date
Daylight_Thieves
Leopard Gecko Addict!
- Messages
- 141
- Location
- Muskego, Wisconsin, United States
I am no expert but when I got my leos, my vet said that full spectrum lights aren't bad because they can help with digestion of calcium and minerals... Also, my leos seem to enjoy them- some even try to lay right under the light and "bask"... I also notice that when the light is installed their colors seem more vibrant compared to when I didn't have them hooked up for about a month...
It'd be interesting to see what the others have to say though...
It'd be interesting to see what the others have to say though...
Fencer04
Long Island Geckos
- Messages
- 322
- Location
- Mastic Beach, NY
They are totally unnecessary and I believe that they lead to more stress for the geckos in the long run.
TokayKeeper
Evil Playsand User
- Messages
- 718
- Location
- Albuquerque, NM, USA
Many species of nocturnal reptiles can be observed day active during cooler months of the year when night temps aren't warm enough for nocturnal activities. There can be some benefit to the UV lighting, but for the most part it isn't needed. However, I do have full spectrum lighting on my tokay and crested gecko tanks. I also run full spectrum lighting on my green tree python cages and AZ mountain treefrog cage. In my opinion, the UV lighting seems to bring out better coloration and a good appetite. To back peddle some, tokays have been documented basking.
A cheaper option, though without the benefits of UV (A and B) output would be some GE Daylight bulbs. They put out a 6500 kelvin temperature light which is similar to natural daylight kelvin temperature. I run these on all my tanks, including 6 leopard geckos that don't live in tubs. I also have my TX Banded Geckos on said lighting. My philosophy is 2 fold in this case, when it comes to cycling I provide both an adjusted photoperiod and temperature decrease. I've not done so this year, but in years past I've hibernated my geckos with my colubrids.
A cheaper option, though without the benefits of UV (A and B) output would be some GE Daylight bulbs. They put out a 6500 kelvin temperature light which is similar to natural daylight kelvin temperature. I run these on all my tanks, including 6 leopard geckos that don't live in tubs. I also have my TX Banded Geckos on said lighting. My philosophy is 2 fold in this case, when it comes to cycling I provide both an adjusted photoperiod and temperature decrease. I've not done so this year, but in years past I've hibernated my geckos with my colubrids.
Thanks for the input everyone. Currently I have those tiny halogen bulbs in my gecko room; I think for all halogen bulbs, the color temperature is around 3000K. The full spectrum fluorescent tubes that I'm looking to switch to, is 5800K CRI 90+; it suppose to have a very similar spectral composition to natural sunlight. Can't exactly call it UV lighting though, as it only contains 4% UVA (long wavelength) and 0.4% UVB.
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