night light:(can someone answer this please)
- Thread starter kpnortiz
- Start date
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
How are you heating his tank?
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
You are right about coming out at night. With a red lightbulb, you'll be able to enjoy your leopard gecko more I think. Great to hear that you are doing your homework first ;-)!
Since you are new, here are some hints: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...pard-gecko-care-recommendations-nutshell.html
Lenewen
New member
Is the purple light a blacklight? If so, I recommend not using it. The effects are debatable and you wouldnt want to accidentally injure your new friend. The red lights are sold at most pet stores, come in different shapes and sizes, and they don't bother the geckos at all because they cannot see red. Mine cost $5.
Good luck
Good luck
If you want to watch the gecko after dark, then you can use one of the mentioned lights. Unless the gecko is in a completely dark room he won't need any extra light overnight. A window with curtains/blinds open will work if you're in the city - there's enough light coming in for him to navigate. In the wild he'd be moving around by moon and starlight which is way less light than the light pollution we live with in cities. Even if you're in the country, the typical moonlight coming in the window will be enough.
Lenewen
New member
Yes. Just don't let the tank get too cold. A thermostat is good for that. You can hook your light and heating pad to it and it'll regulate the temp for you. Mine is usually set to 78 degrees at night, 90 during the day. I think I paid $25 for a cheap one, then later paid like $40 for the digital one I'm using now.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Because of possibly overheating during the day in sunlight, I do not locate cages next to windows.
Where I live there are too many clouds too often to depend upon moonlight. That's why I recommend a red lightbulb. They come in many wattages.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Just was listening to the guy from Big Apple talk about thermostats this afternoon. He said one should only plug in heating devices of the same wattages into one separate thermostat...like say three 100s UTHs (for three separate vivariums) or whatever, not an UTH and say a 50 watt bulb. If one did the later, and the devices were of unequal wattages, he indicated the thermostat would not know how to behave.
Correct me if I misinterpreted this. Check the link out on my Leo Recs in a Nutshell post: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...pard-gecko-care-recommendations-nutshell.html
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
It all depends upon what size she is now.
Crickets and dubia roaches are more nutritious feeders than mealworms. Know, also, that some leos spend their lives eating mealworms.
Something that I'd like you guys to clarify regarding red lights. I keep hearing people saying geckos can't see red light. I really don't know how that is true. Red light, purple light, black light, blue moon glow light etc. are all incandescent bulbs offered by pet supply companies. Can geckos' eyes not interpret the color red? That sounds bizarre.
This is what I know: The color Red doesn't equal infrared
Not many animals can see infrared. Snakes, bats, and certain bugs see infrared. I don't know if nocturnal geckos can see in infrared. The Infrared light spectrum is not a visible light spectrum and most living things can't interpret it. A "infrared bulb" isn't purely emitting infrared. If it only emitted 100% infrared, the light would be invisible. A lot of electronics and robots use infrared sensors to sense motion or distance. If anyone has seen this kind of equipment you will remember that there is no light emitted at all. IF there is a red beam of light from IR equipment it exists mainly to assist the operator of where s/he is pointing the IR tool such as an IR heat gun.
The "black body" of an IR light bulb itself absorbs enough of the light spectrum that alot more infrared light is emitted vs. visible light. The byproduct is a red visible light that everyone/everything can see. Therefore, Zoo Med/Zilla/Exo Terra blue night bulbs, red night glo bulbs, infrared bulbs all do the same thing -they block as much visible light as possible and act as a heat source. The unblocked light is intentionally used for the customer to look at their cool reptiles.
I believe the real question is: Among these "night time viewing" blue bulbs, red bulbs, black bulbs, etc. which one emits enough visible light for you to see the reptiles and at the same time not enough visible light to disturb their nocturnal nature. By that reasoning it makes sense why companies sell night time reptile lights in all sorts of colors. Zoo Med, Exo Terra, and Petsmart's All Living Things all sell reptile bulbs labeled as infrared. At this point, I believe "infrared" in the animal keeping world is purely a marketing term. You can probably paint any bulb a dark enough color and call it an infrared bulb because infrared is in the light spectrum of any light bulb.
This is what I know: The color Red doesn't equal infrared
Not many animals can see infrared. Snakes, bats, and certain bugs see infrared. I don't know if nocturnal geckos can see in infrared. The Infrared light spectrum is not a visible light spectrum and most living things can't interpret it. A "infrared bulb" isn't purely emitting infrared. If it only emitted 100% infrared, the light would be invisible. A lot of electronics and robots use infrared sensors to sense motion or distance. If anyone has seen this kind of equipment you will remember that there is no light emitted at all. IF there is a red beam of light from IR equipment it exists mainly to assist the operator of where s/he is pointing the IR tool such as an IR heat gun.
The "black body" of an IR light bulb itself absorbs enough of the light spectrum that alot more infrared light is emitted vs. visible light. The byproduct is a red visible light that everyone/everything can see. Therefore, Zoo Med/Zilla/Exo Terra blue night bulbs, red night glo bulbs, infrared bulbs all do the same thing -they block as much visible light as possible and act as a heat source. The unblocked light is intentionally used for the customer to look at their cool reptiles.
I believe the real question is: Among these "night time viewing" blue bulbs, red bulbs, black bulbs, etc. which one emits enough visible light for you to see the reptiles and at the same time not enough visible light to disturb their nocturnal nature. By that reasoning it makes sense why companies sell night time reptile lights in all sorts of colors. Zoo Med, Exo Terra, and Petsmart's All Living Things all sell reptile bulbs labeled as infrared. At this point, I believe "infrared" in the animal keeping world is purely a marketing term. You can probably paint any bulb a dark enough color and call it an infrared bulb because infrared is in the light spectrum of any light bulb.
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Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Any lighting experts aboard?
panthergecko
Active member
huh
Not a lighting expert, but I have researched the ones recommended for nocturnal reptiles. What I found out suggests that the night viewing lights are too bright and could actually mess with their day/night cycle.
Consider that they evolved to live in the darkness of the wilds. On clear nights they get more light than when it's overcast. Full moon, new moon, patchy clouds, overcast - it's all part of the game for them. If they live in the deepest, darkest jungle at ground level they still navigate without a night light shining on them. Nobody's out there guiding them with a flashlight. The nocturnal ones can see well enough with natural light that's available at night - not just visible light, but they also make use of some of the 'invisible' light spectrum.
We've evolved to be diurnal - our night vision is really useless. If we can't see in a darkened room, we tend to think the geckos can't either. Have you ever awakened in the middle of the night and noticed how much better you can see than when you first turned off the lights? Your eyes have adjusted to the lower light level, the little bit of 'night vision' we have has kicked in. Consider how well a nocturnal gecko can see in that same darkness. To them, a night light that we find dim would seem like daylight.
Unless an enclosure is in a completely dark room, no light coming in at all, I wouldn't use a light at night. Even then, I'd only use the weakest night light plugged in as far from the enclosure as I could manage.
Consider that they evolved to live in the darkness of the wilds. On clear nights they get more light than when it's overcast. Full moon, new moon, patchy clouds, overcast - it's all part of the game for them. If they live in the deepest, darkest jungle at ground level they still navigate without a night light shining on them. Nobody's out there guiding them with a flashlight. The nocturnal ones can see well enough with natural light that's available at night - not just visible light, but they also make use of some of the 'invisible' light spectrum.
We've evolved to be diurnal - our night vision is really useless. If we can't see in a darkened room, we tend to think the geckos can't either. Have you ever awakened in the middle of the night and noticed how much better you can see than when you first turned off the lights? Your eyes have adjusted to the lower light level, the little bit of 'night vision' we have has kicked in. Consider how well a nocturnal gecko can see in that same darkness. To them, a night light that we find dim would seem like daylight.
Unless an enclosure is in a completely dark room, no light coming in at all, I wouldn't use a light at night. Even then, I'd only use the weakest night light plugged in as far from the enclosure as I could manage.
kpnortiz
New member
i think if i put the black light to the whole room it'll be less bright on her rather than on top of tank i wouldn't think it'll hurt the gecko like that but yea i understand they wouldn't need it really but i would wanna see how she reacts with purple in whole room like on top of wall on opposite side real high but i wont keep purple light to use for gecko because i think its not even the right color. I really might not get the red light but i might have it around just to see what she does at night, but i wont use that much because them lights annoy me lol.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Excellent point, Lenewen!
I heat my leo's 20 gallon long enclosure solely with a 75 watt infrared bulb on a rheostat. This enclosure sits in my living room's far corner away from windows. It's also hooked to a timer which turns off this bulb for 10 hours at night. Room temperatures reach ~ 67*F at night.
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