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Red vs Blue

Rorryy

Rorryy

Anela la la la
I have a blue light for my new snakes viv, it adds a little extra warmth and from my understanding can be kept on 24/7. I read here that you use red. What is the difference, and should I switch? The blue I use is 75 watts and a 10g viv. Is this ok? I need to get another heat source for my 20g for night air temp as the weather is starting to cool off. My snakes always have the option of the warm side w/ the uth though. Any advise? You guys and gals are the best and thanx to Rich for keeping this going.
Angela
 
75 Watts over a 10G tank sounds excessive to me, but the important thing is the temperature inside the tank. I have 50 Watt daylight spectrum globes over my 20L tanks and they have to be dimmed to reduce the ambient heat.

The blue light is a daylight globe, to simulate the sun light to some extent. If you do not turn this off at night the snakes will not know that night has come.

A red globe is used for constand or night lights as it is a common belief that snakes cannot detect the red light as a light source. (I don't know if they can or can't to be honest)

If you have a UTH then the snakes will always have access to heat (unless you turn it off) so the light really just comes down to your preference to have a lit viv. You must be aware that you have added to the ambient air temps and should monitor and adjust the temps accordingly.

Personally, I use lights (as I mentioned above) with those snakes that do not mind traffic (in my office) and for want of a better explanation are "on display". I do have a few that are allot shyer and are better suited to being in tubs in the rack, so you have to get to know your snakes and accommodate their needs.
 
Wow good to know. My new snake is the one with the blue bulb that i leave on. It seems to know that is night though as it comes out about 8ishPM when the sun sets and is hiding when I get up 7ish AM. But I guess I could still be stressing her out huh? My other snakes viv has a 100w in a 20g but her light goes off at night. I don't have a thermostat yet so I turn on and off the lights during the day to keep the air temp 80-85. Am I f-ing up here? Please let me know so I can correct :dunce:
 
LOL just wait until you have 30+ snakes (it's coming) turning those on and off all day will drive you and the snakes insane, but will work. I use a 24 hour plug in timer (Walmart .... $4) to turn my lights on for 15 hours a day.

Now you have me wondering, if you have a UTH and no thermostat to turn it off automatically, how do you know it's not 100F+ under the substrate or do you have 2 probes? The reason I ask is because the heat from the light will not penetrate thick substrate. It is important to remember you now have 2 heat sources (UTH and light), therefore must ensure neither one gets too hot. You should be measuring the hottest part/s of the viv that the snake can come in contact with, both above and below the bedding in your case.

Personally I have no preference between store bought or home made thermostats, the latter is less expensive, it just doesn't look as "pretty" as a store bought. They both take the same amount of time to adjust to correct temps, so the choice there is purely yours to make.

In a nut shell, you are not F-ing up (made me laugh), with a few minor tweaks your set ups are ideal and safe. (temperature wise)
 
A simple 40 watt household bulb can be used for ambient heating. Their is no real need to purchase the overpriced "reptile bulbs" in petstores. They're all basically the same thing.
 
blckkat said:
A simple 40 watt household bulb can be used for ambient heating. Their is no real need to purchase the overpriced "reptile bulbs" in petstores. They're all basically the same thing.
Click to expand...


I do agree so please do not take this any other way. :cheers:

The "reptile bulbs" offer UVA light, while this is not critical to corns, it does have a detrimental affect on many forms of bacteria, having said that algae loves it also. So the water must be changed regularly (normal practise anyway).

A normal house type globe gives off yellow light, which is great if you have red or yellow morphs, the other globes do actually help enhance the natural colours of snakes and just makes them look "prettier".

Personal choice is all it boils down to here. :shrugs:
 
UVA/UVB rays are coming off of the tube lighting or the expensive MVB bulbs. The basic reptile "basking bulb" does not contain any UVA/UVB rays.

Though I do agree, basic household bulbs (like at walmart) are yellowish. BUT stop into a Lowes or HomeDepot and you can find bright white household bulbs at less then what the "reptile bulbs" are selling for.
 
Thank you for your replies and will get a thermostat for the uth. I use about 2" of aspen for sub and the hides on the warm sides have bottoms. The snakes rarely use the warm side and I don't see them burrowing over there either. I 'm sure that its probably due to the temp being too high. Being that the weather is cooling and Ivory is getting too big to fit under her water dish I will be getting the thermostats. What is the difference between thermo and reostats? Thanx for you help.
Angela
 
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