Light Cycles

[Aar0n]

I have seen conflicting information regarding lighting for leos. Is having a light important? I have access to anything from ceramic heaters to UTH to household bulbs to UVB bulbs of various strengths. What is the best way to heat/light my 20gal long?

Do they require a light cycle? Also do they need a cool down time during the night? My bearded dragon requires that the temps drop at night so that it can cool down? Do leos need this as well or can the temp stay at 90 the entire time without a lightsource?

 

[Bodon]

I started out with a bulb and then went to an UTH and id never go back. They don't need uvb lights because they are nocturnal and would never be out basking like a turtle or most reptiles. I turn on a light once and a while but just to change things up for her.

Its good to have a light cycle because it is for all animals however its not that they need to cool down at night, thats why the tank has a cool side and a warm side at all times, let your gecko decide what temp it needs to be at. I leave my UTH on at all times.

 

[sushikam]

Well I just replied to your other post about your gecko not eating, and I think I pretty much answered your questions there, but I'll answer some here again. My thought is that leos don't need a light cycle, all they need is belly heat. I have heard of people using a low wattage red or blue bulb for nighttime use to keep the temps in the tank higher when it's cold, but other than that I don't think a light is really necessary. I would start using the UTH. And they also don't need a cool down period like other reptiles may need. You can keep the temps at a constant 88-92 all day and it'll be just fine.

Once, again, hope I helped!

 

[Stitch]

My thought is that leos don't need a light cycle............And they also don't need a cool down period like other reptiles may need

Pretty much everything needs a light cycle. If the cage is in a room with a window in it, then that should be all the light you need. But if the cage is in a room with no window, then yes you should provide a light to help create a photoperiod. Controlling the light with a timer is by far the easiest way to create a photoperiod.

Most geckos right now are going through their winter cycle right now because house temps naturally cool down and the daylight hours are shorter. During their winter cycle they usually reduce their food intake. As the days become longer and temps begin to rise they will start eating more often. Soon ebough they will be getting ready to breed (if they aren't already). This is all due to having a photoperiod. Don't forget that they get a photoperiod in the wild, so why wouldn't they need one in captivity.

In short and in my opinion creating a photoperiod is a must. Even if you aren't breeding.

 

[Aar0n]

Should I use a basking bulb or UVB bulb or will a normal household bulb work?

 

[Stitch]

Normal house light is all you need, other then the timer that I suggest using.

Remember if the room has a window then you shouldn't need any extra lights.

 

[Aar0n]

The room has a window but the shades are usually pulled. Some light gets in but the room isnt very bright

 

[Stitch]

My reptile room has a window that DOES NOT get any direct sunlight at all. All of my leos are healthy and have bred successfully 2 years now.

It won't hurt to have the extra light.



Am I making this difficult for you?

 

[xboxmember1978]

It is very important to have a proper day and night cycle. I see people all the time saying since they are nocturnal they dont need light and also people saying they dont need light cause they only need belly heat.

If your gecko is in a well lite room with alot of natural sunlight, then it will be ok not to use a bulb to mimic the day cycle but like my situation I have my leo's in a bedroom that stays very dark due to thick dark curtains and I have to have a light on over their tank from 8am-6pm to mimic the day cycle and If I forget to turn them on I noticed all 3 of my leo's get very confused and don't really know what to do since they have a feeling it should be daylight but there isnt any light so they go in and out of their hides several times until I put the light on and then they hide almost all day except to get a drink every so often

The truths are that they don't need uvb light cause they don't benefit from it since they are nocturnal and hide 90% of the day but they still do need light to have a day cycle. That can be done with natural sunlight or regular incandescent or florescent bulbs.

 

[DAWNoftheLEO]

Window sunlight for me

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

As long as leos know when it's daytime and nighttime, that's all the light cycle they need. Since they are nocturnal, their eyes and skin are not adapted for UV rays, so keep them out of any direct sunlight.

 

[DAWNoftheLEO]

I don't even like direct sunlight myself, lol

 

[Ipsl]

As long as leos know when it's daytime and nighttime, that's all the light cycle they need. Since they are nocturnal, their eyes and skin are not adapted for UV rays, so keep them out of any direct sunlight.

Now why is that? I mean to look at it from a more i dunno what ever )) it seems that all animals that are terrestrial and non burrowing would have some type of UV protectant. I mean in the wild they just shrivil up? They are from a particularly sunny and arid area with not much in the way of shade, save under rocks. I also recall hearing something about it helping the colors of the geckos skin.

I do have day bulbs on my leos and I have to be honest when I changed to this I did notice my APTORs colors got a little (not much) more vivid.

 

[DAWNoftheLEO]

I used lights yearrs ago.. Watch out for actual temp of substrate or bottom of tank/tub, use a non contact thermometer if possible. Those lights run hot!!!

Moving to rack systems (closed on 3 sides) and visionariums, they do get indirect sunlight from window.. ( bred fine last year and again this year). On this note, my blinds stay open all day when I'm not home, the lights in house are usually on until a certain time and we ALL go to sleep. I'd say that's a light cycle in a sense.

I'm sure in the natural habitat of the culprits in question, they get sun in some way, I do understand that they are nocturnal..But, I am sure they have some sort of secret adaption we may not know about. (IN NO MEANS DOES THIS MEAN GO OUT oN THE TOWN IN THE DIRECT SUN WITH YOUR GECKO). We don't wanna fry anyone

 

[Ccrashca069]

I don't even like direct sunlight myself, lol

So you walk around looking like a Zombie Juan? :main_laugh:

 

[Nigel4less]

So you walk around looking like a Zombie Juan? :main_laugh:

A Zombie that wears the same size boxers as me lol. And Same Size shoes, lol C`mon Juan don't deny the truth

 

[DAWNoftheLEO]

This thread has turned very very odd.. lol..
Well, Juan is a zombie enthusiast, so I try.

 

[Stitch]

I also recall hearing something about it helping the colors of the geckos skin.

I have heard of that for reptiles that are diurnal, but not for nocturnal reptiles. I have also heard people say in the past that leo's might receive small amounts of UV light by come out of their hiding spots just as the suns setting or staying up just after the sun rises. But a healthy, undisturbed, leo would never be seen out in the middle of the daytime. I don't know if UV light would improve thair actual pigment color. But their colors may seem more vibrant due to the UV reflecting off their skin.

 

[TokayKeeper]

There doesn't seem to be much of an understanding of UV -A and -B's effects upon anything nocturnal, particularly reptilian. Within the chondro community many will use some form of UV florescent lighting within the habitat. The assumption is that many of the higher white locality animals (Aru, Merauke/Bade, Cape York, etc) somehow benefit in the UV for the production of their white patterning. Unfortunately many have kept their animals under UV lights and produce animals with low, normal, and above average white patterning; and the same can be said for those not even using lighting. Granted these are animals that live in trees, but even that taken into consideration not much UV light penetrates a given forest canopy - be it rain forest to temerpate deciduous forest.

Anyone ever notice that when their geckos are cool or cold they sometimes appear darker? This is a natural response to environmental conditions within most (potentially all) reptiles. Be they crepuscular, diurnal, or nocturnal, many reptiles will darken up when cold or cool. This "color change" aids in allowing the animal to thermoregulate faster (dark colors absorb heat more quickly) when basking. A good example for us gecko people would be tokays. Those of us that have kept tokays have seen our beautiful geckos go from baby blue-gray to slate gray. I've personally witnessed 1 of my own tokays in a 90 gallon out basking in the morning in a darken state to only appear baby blue-gray 30 minutes to hours later. When the tank use to get accidental direct sunlight (it use to be oriented in an eastern facing room) the gecko would come out to bask in the morning sun. Many European keepers of tokays have witnessed this and have even gone as far as providing a basking lamp within the habitat.

To keep with the temperature related theme, many "nocturnal" herp species, at least here in the us, don't start working towards becoming nocturnal until the night low starts regularly hitting 55-60°F. That's typically April and May for here (New Mexico). Many of these "nocturnal" animals will be DIURNAL during these times of the year (and subsequently in Sept and Oct when night temps start to fall again). To bring this a little more closer to home Eublephlarid wise, where I live I've seen TX banded geckos active during the day in Spring and Fall. Something else to consider, many high elevation species also tend to be darker pigmented in order to better absorb heat from the sun, again even "nocturnal" species.

Anyhow, I have to go. Many more points to hit on, but I have training for work causing me to leave earlier that I'm use to this morning.

 

[Ccrashca069]

I think those are great points. Maybe there should be a study about it done. It would be very interesting to see the results. I remember the Reptiles mag article. I was hoping it would be alot better then it was. So to me that article should not have been printed.