Why NOT to use colored lights in your geckos cage at night...

[Riverside Reptiles]

I've been saying for quite some time (based on the same papers this article is) that geckos CAN see colored lights (red, "moonlight", etc), and that they are NOT appropriate to leave on all night long. They're fine for turning on for a few mins to observe your geckos, but that's about it. And if you're looking for a source of heat from above, use a CHE which doesn't put off any light at all and lasts a heck of a lot longer than any regular bulbs does on top of that.

Anyway, here's the article:
Colored Lights & Reptiles: Myths the pet store told me

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Thank you! I fell for that too ages ago, though I've heard that the "moonlight" bulbs are less disturbing to them based on others' experiences - possibly because red is a a totally unnatural color of light for them to see and the bulbs are apparently brighter than the moonlight ones?

If I may, some more good links on the subject:
Reptile Lighting Information
'Gecko Vision': Key To Future Multifocal Contact Lens?

~Maggot

 

[cassicat4]

I think that's also why the Night Black Heat lights are recommended as well - because the low amount of light emitted is even less disturbing to the gecko than the moonlight or red bulbs.

What about in the wild though? Geckos won't be in complete darkness except when they're in their hides. When they're out and about hunting, they'll still be subjected to some moonlight, even if it's minimal. I can't imagine a minimal amount of light (providing it's a natural hue/color family they'd be exposed to anyway) would be detrimental to their well-being.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Read the article, it answers a lot of your questions. As for the manufacturers claim that certain bulbs might produce less light, or that certain colors are less disruptive, do keep in mind that there are ZERO regulations in place for manufacturers of these products and they can basically make any claims that they want to get the sale. Most of these manufacturers have a long history of producing crappy products that are simply designed to get herpers money. Personally, I don't trust much of anything any of them claim.

I have no problems with people using these lights for short periods of time to view their geckos in action at night. But I can't believe that it's healthy to turn their environment red or blue or purple for 8+ hours at a time. The moon is not any of those colors. And if what you're attempting to achieve is heat from above, a CHE will do the job a lot more effectively.

 

[cassicat4]

What about diurnal reptiles?

The impression I got from the article is that all reptiles have essentially the same capabilities for sight, but from experience, I haven't found this to be true. While I have noticed that nocturnals/crepusculars do act noticeably different in the presence of night lights (be it red, moonlight, or night black) vs. CHE or no light, I have found that diurnals appear to be bothered only by the red and moonlight bulbs, and sleep fine under the night black lights.

Thoughts?

 

[Hilde]

Two more links with info about gecko night vision


The pupils and optical systems of gecko eyes

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...zEQiNB&sig=AHIEtbRjIakHAB9eUjfw_dPhjLUaVScy8w

 

[thorrshamri]

Thanks for this very interesting thread Hilde

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Thanks for this very interesting thread Hilde

Where's my "thanks" Frenchie???

;-)

 

[thorrshamri]

Where's my "thanks" Frenchie???

;-)

Up your big tokay gecko's mouth, yankee :biggrin:

 

[Embrace Calamity]

Where's my "thanks" Frenchie???

;-)

Hey, I thanked you! I'm a Yank, but still.

~Maggot

 

[athdaraxen]

What about grey or black (not the black as in purple but an actually black light).

I know Lowes sells colored mood bulbs and I was thinking to myself, if you could find a gray or a true black light wouldn't it be more like actual moonlight then the blue ones? If it was dark enough I mean.

Sent from my Slimbean Cappy via Tapatalk 2

 

[Embrace Calamity]

What about grey or black (not the black as in purple but an actually black light).

I know Lowes sells colored mood bulbs and I was thinking to myself, if you could find a gray or a true black light wouldn't it be more like actual moonlight then the blue ones? If it was dark enough I mean.

Sent from my Slimbean Cappy via Tapatalk 2

Wait, I'm confused. What kind of light does it give off? I'm pretty certain there's no such thing as "true black light." Black is the absence of all colors, and light is the presence of all (or some) colors. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong.) Not that the moon gives off "grey" or "black" light anyway.

~Maggot

 

[athdaraxen]

Wait, I'm confused. What kind of light does it give off? I'm pretty certain there's no such thing as "true black light." Black is the absence of all colors, and light is the presence of all (or some) colors. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong.) Not that the moon gives off "grey" or "black" light anyway.

~Maggot

Well from what I could tell from the one at lowes it gives off this... Well it reminded me of the color of storm clouds but darker. Does that make sense?

And I was speaking of a bulb my friend had. Unlit it looked pure black and when it was lit it gave off such a dim color. It was darker than the gray described above.

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[Embrace Calamity]

Well from what I could tell from the one at lowes it gives off this... Well it reminded me of the color of storm clouds but darker. Does that make sense?

And I was speaking of a bulb my friend had. Unlit it looked pure black and when it was lit it gave off such a dim color. It was darker than the gray described above.

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Just because you can't tell its color, that doesn't necessarily mean it's not colored. Keep in mind geckos have nighttime color eyesight 350x better than ours. I dunno, maybe it's possible for a bulb to give off legitimately black light...but I'm pretty sure it's not.

~Maggot

 

[athdaraxen]

Just because you can't tell its color, that doesn't necessarily mean it's not colored. Keep in mind geckos have nighttime color eyesight 350x better than ours. I dunno, maybe it's possible for a bulb to give off legitimately black light...but I'm pretty sure it's not.

~Maggot

I was just curious. I may get one and try it out. I'm always fiddling with lights since I am in a one window apartment lol. I still think it was a bad design to stick the wall unit A/C under it. >__>

Anywho from what I can tell Zuko seems to prefer a blue light when its night time. I don't use the moonlight blub but a rather a fancy bulb I found a Lowes. Its a very soft blue but gives off a nice bit of heat.

I've noticed he's much less likely to come out at night to explore if I use my purple blacklight.

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[Embrace Calamity]

Probably because blue is a little more natural color than purple. Still shouldn't use any colored lights though IMO. CHEs are the way to go.

~Maggot

 

[athdaraxen]

Probably because blue is a little more natural color than purple. Still shouldn't use any colored lights though IMO. CHEs are the way to go.

~Maggot

I plan to get one once taxes come through, those buggers are expensive. So for now he will say with his blue light for the moon and a desk lamp for a sun.

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[Riverside Reptiles]

I don't use any sort of night time lighting what so ever and all of my geckos do fine. They can see plenty well enough to hunt and get around. I really don't advocate using any colored lights at night other than for viewing brief periods of time. Turning their entire world into a blue or green or purple lit landscape certainly isn't natural and I would have to assume that it's at least somewhat stressful. The theory USED to be that they could not see lighting in these colored spectrums. But obviously this has been disproved at this point.

 

[athdaraxen]

I'm aware if that.

I have the blue light on a timer for a period of time (about an hour) after the desk lamp sun goes off to make more of a natural transition from day to night instead of just getting dark all of a sudden. As I said I have no place near a window for him so I have to make his day and night. Hence why I asked about the gray bulbs and what was thought on them possibly being less stressful due to it being gray.

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[pakinjak]

It sounds like you're speaking primarily of geckos like leopards or fat tails... geckos that need heat at night as well as the daytime.

I personally use blue LED rope light, 20 feet of it, draped around the ceiling in my herp room. But of course I keep only tropical arboreal animals. I want my geckos to have some light at night, and in my setup they wouldn't have any at all if I didn't use some kind of light. I'm sure their eyes are better than mine, but they still need SOME light.

While I certainly understand not using a red or blue light, or light of any kind shining down into each gecko's tank, they certainly do need something. I just mention it for clarification, that's all.