Red lighting

[Jamesmerrill]

Currently using a large red heat bulb that I also used to heat my baby chicks during their early months to heat my baby bearded dragons enclosure. I also leave it on at night to keep the tank warm while I turn off the basking and uvb lights. My uvb light is only a small coil bulb rather than a long tubular bulb, does this provide enough light or should I invest in tubular? Is this healthy for my bearded or could the red lighting damage his vision or hinder his sleeping? He seems to be less active than usual as of late and eating less. worried about him, thanks for the help.

 

[AndyHarp94]

Hey there!

As far as UVB bulbs go the general belief is that you need to go with the long tube bulb (reptisun 10.0) rather than the coil. From what I've heard, the coil has caused some problems in the past and I don't know if they've been fixed. I started my guy on a red light but was told pretty quickly that it can damage their eyes. I'm not sure if that's accurate or not but I didn't want to take any chances. With my little guy, having the red light dim at night didn't cause any problems but I definitely wouldn't keep it on full blast because it can mess with their sleep patterns. If you're in an area where the temperature is too low at night I would just invest in a ceramic heat emitter, they aren't very expensive and do the job well.

 

[Taterbug]

Red bulbs probably don't damage the eyes, but they sure would impair their vision and that can have negative consequences. If you can see it, they can see it.

For UVB coils aren't really appropriate for dragons for dragons, even though some makers have fixed the formulations that caused eye problems. The area of UVB is very small and very focused. A dragon really needs a nice big sunny patch to bask in, and a gentle gradient - neither of which a compact bulb can provide. You can get a reptisun tube, an arcadia tube or a Mercury vapor bulb like a megaray.

 

[Jamesmerrill]

Thanks So much for all the help guys very useful, just one more question. Is it ok to shine the uvb and other lights through a mesh wire top?

 

[Taterbug]

Thanks So much for all the help guys very useful, just one more question. Is it ok to shine the uvb and other lights through a mesh wire top?

Heat light, yes. UVB, It depends on the type you get. The T5 tubes and the MVB can, the T8 tubes are not strong enoigh.