UV lighting??

[GothicGurrrl]

Hey

I have another question for you all! lol, i bet my questions are getting a little annoying, but I'm a newbie keeper and I want to make sure everything is right so banana is healthy and happy better safe than sorry, i guess.

Well.. UV lighting? I have read everywhere that leopard gecko are nocturnal and do not require any lighting. If they do, its only to resemble day and night time so their natural sleep/wake patterns are met.
The pet store where I volunteer, and where I got my gecko, have always used a UV light for their leos. It's a lower wattage than you would use for day basking reptiles, like beardies. it's a 14 watt.

I didn't want to change her usual routine and surroundings so I got one. The women I work with said it will ensure her skin is healthy.

so....Is it okay? it won't stress her out or make her ill having a constant UV light in during the day?

 

[LZRDGRL]

You shouldn't use a UV light for a leopard gecko. The eyes of leopard geckos are light sensitive. They should never have daylight (blue light or white light). They also don't need it for their bones like other reptiles.

If you want lights to view him/her better, take the nocturnal infrared heat lamp for the day, and the black night light for the night. Here's a good link where to get them from: http://www.herpsupplies.com/subcategory.cfm?id=11&sub=33

They emit heat, so if your house cools down a bit in winter and the under-the-tank heater is not enough, your gecko will still be nice warm. I would recommend always to have a spare at home, because they burn out quite frequently.

If you already bought a UV light because the pet shop clerk gave you a wrong advice, exchange it for a red or black light

Have fun with your gecko,

Chrissy

 

[GothicGurrrl]

I thought that I shouldnt use one.. but she's had it for 5 or months or more.. however long she's been at the pet store.. all their geckos have a very low UV light. I didnt want to mess up what shes used to. The women i work with said that I need one.. that some are brought up with UV light so they are adapted to it more then leos that havent.. or something on those lines.

I had red heat bulbs originally for the night time but I decided not to use them because it was getting too hot in the viv, even with just the bulb on.. and i cant afford two thermostats.. bulb thermostats are £50.. soo she's just on a mat now.. with a mat stat of course.

I'm not bothered about seeing her during the day as I'm at college and she's mostly asleep.

and i just wanted to add.. wow you have loads of geckos. thats awesome ^ ^

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Stores do a lot of things that are for the benefit of customers but not in the best interest of the animal. Lighting is not required but allows for a pleasant view. Stores want to sell accessories. Sometimes they even have a care sheet with a couple paragraphs of species information and a shopping list of all the stuff needed, all of which they sell, like sand, two separate lights and fixtures, an easy to read stick on thermometer, etc.

 

[Dog Shrink]

Stores want to sell accessories. Sometimes they even have a care sheet with a couple paragraphs of species information and a shopping list of all the stuff needed, all of which they sell, like sand, two separate lights and fixtures, an easy to read stick on thermometer, etc.

All of which we know our leos don't need, could cause harm, or are otherwise detrimental.

If you want to keep some kind of kight on there for your viewing pleaure I would just suggest a plain incandescent lamp bulb. I keep a 15 watt on my tank, only raises the temps a few degrees but provides a soft light for me to see my pretty tank and helps with his day/night cycle since he's in a dim room. Animals that aren't use to UV or don't require it but get it anyway, well those that don't need it like noctournals, they don't develop the defense mechanisms to protect themselves from it when exposed. So thinks like eyes, skin etc. run the risk of damage from lack of proper defenses, and in the long term they could overly stress your leo. Keeping things the same as they were while at the shop is one thing but keeping things the same as they were simply because you don't want to stress her and change things could come around to bite you in the butt. If you know no good can come of it, and it could possibly cause her stress or injury over the long term then why risk it. Changing it now is better than a prolonged negative issue.

that's just my 2 cents

 

[GothicGurrrl]

All of which we know our leos don't need, could cause harm, or are otherwise detrimental.

If you want to keep some kind of kight on there for your viewing pleaure I would just suggest a plain incandescent lamp bulb. I keep a 15 watt on my tank, only raises the temps a few degrees but provides a soft light for me to see my pretty tank and helps with his day/night cycle since he's in a dim room. Animals that aren't use to UV or don't require it but get it anyway, well those that don't need it like noctournals, they don't develop the defense mechanisms to protect themselves from it when exposed. So thinks like eyes, skin etc. run the risk of damage from lack of proper defenses, and in the long term they could overly stress your leo. Keeping things the same as they were while at the shop is one thing but keeping things the same as they were simply because you don't want to stress her and change things could come around to bite you in the butt. If you know no good can come of it, and it could possibly cause her stress or injury over the long term then why risk it. Changing it now is better than a prolonged negative issue.

that's just my 2 cents

Okay, lol I should ask before I listen to people. But I always think their advice can be trusted because I work with them. I've just paid almost £30 for something I don't need lol .. i guess i'll have to ebay it.

so.. I can screw a normal light bulb into the red bulb fixture??

 

[Skydiver Keith]

As long as the leo can hide, the uv lamp won't hurt it.

But you did buy a rediculously expensive lamp, when a $3 14watt lamp would have done even better, because on no UV!

 

[Skydiver Keith]

You shouldn't use a UV light for a leopard gecko. The eyes of leopard geckos are light sensitive. They should never have daylight (blue light or white light). They also don't need it for their bones like other reptiles.

If you want lights to view him/her better, take the nocturnal infrared heat lamp for the day, and the black night light for the night. Here's a good link where to get them from: http://www.herpsupplies.com/subcategory.cfm?id=11&sub=33

They emit heat, so if your house cools down a bit in winter and the under-the-tank heater is not enough, your gecko will still be nice warm. I would recommend always to have a spare at home, because they burn out quite frequently.

If you already bought a UV light because the pet shop clerk gave you a wrong advice, exchange it for a red or black light

Have fun with your gecko,

Chrissy

You may want to study up on lighting. You recommend not useing uv lighting, but then go on to recommend black lights. Its obvious you aren't aware of this, but black lights emit uv light, but its worse, because there is no visible light, so the leo thinks its in the dark, but still being exposed to uv. rays.

Edit: Sorry, I followed the link an discovered that the lamps you are refering to are not actualy black lights, but just marketed with a similar name. You can get these types of lamps much cheaper at a home improvement store, such as Lowes or Home Depot in the states.

To the original poster, be careful what advice you take from pet store employees, but that also goes for taking advice from forum posters (myself included) do your own research and make your own decisions. Don't be a lemming...

 

[Dog Shrink]

Why can't you just return what you don't need back to the pet store and yes I use a regular heat lamp fixture for the 15 watt incandescent bulb.

 

[GothicGurrrl]

Why can't you just return what you don't need back to the pet store and yes I use a regular heat lamp fixture for the 15 watt incandescent bulb.

because it's been used. I set it up in my tank (didn't turn it on while my leopard gecko was in there, but I tested it to make sure it worked). I've already returned alot of things I bought in there, but I'm not sure they will accept it back because it's been opened.

Okay, I will just use an ordinary incandescent bulb now I just want to ensure her sleep/wake cycles are not disturbed, so I want some kind of lighting in there during the day.

 

[GothicGurrrl]

As long as the leo can hide, the uv lamp won't hurt it.

But you did buy a rediculously expensive lamp, when a $3 14watt lamp would have done even better, because on no UV!

haha I know. I only bought it because someone at the pet store I volunteer at recommended it and said they needed it. I asked puzzled.. saying they are nocturnal and she told me they still needed it.. and that some geckos are used to it. :S I was soo confused lol but they studied animal care so I just accepted their advice. Plus I didn't want to argue with them, im quite shy and I have to work with them for a while so I didn't want to cause any tension because I was saying they were wrong. They wouldn't listen to my advice anyway lol

 

[Dog Shrink]

If you're trying to simulate your location's day/night cycle I'd suggest using a light timer to make sure it's right. They can be really inexpensive (under $10) and makes monitoring your cycle virtually worry free. I have one on my leo set to go on at 8 am and off at 5:30 pm. You'll have to chage the times when you have longer hours of daylight in the summers and shorter amounts of daylight in the winter.

 

[Skydiver Keith]

If you're trying to simulate your location's day/night cycle I'd suggest using a light timer to make sure it's right. They can be really inexpensive (under $10) and makes monitoring your cycle virtually worry free. I have one on my leo set to go on at 8 am and off at 5:30 pm. You'll have to chage the times when you have longer hours of daylight in the summers and shorter amounts of daylight in the winter.

+1

 

[Dog Shrink]

+1

Omg... he agrees

 

[Skydiver Keith]

Omg... he agrees

Only because I saw your profile pic! <drooling> :main_thumbsup:

 

[Dog Shrink]

Oh my gawd... I'm leaving now ... :blush: :sweetheart:

 

[fl_orchidslave]

:laugh: too funny

 

[Dog Shrink]

Guess I should update that profile pic to the new shorter 'doo aye Laney

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Yes! Show that feisty new do