• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

vivarium lighting

M

mregg1602

New member
ok so im gonna make a fine mesh window on top of my 24" cornsnake wooden vivarium using a jigsaw to cut a 30 -45 cm rectangle and fitting an exo terra lighting canopy.

is it safe for me to use a Exo terra Repti Glo 2.0 Compact bulb and a Exo terra Night Glo bulb for my cornsnake


p.s Amel Corns still missing,traps,flour and frantic searches still in progress

thanks
 
Ive been wondering about lighting as well. I know none is needed for basking or UV reasons. But I like to be able to see what is going on. For the leopard geckos we use the red bulbs since in theory they can't see it, or can't see it as well. Im assuming the same is true for corns, and most nocturnal snakes for that matter?
 
To answer your question about the bulb. It is safe for your corn, but it's not needed. That bulb has UVB and its really for reptiles that have live plants in their vivs. So it's safe, but not necessary. You can get a normal bulb, or long fluorescent. I know a few members here use a fluorescent bulb like the ones used for fish tanks. I use these as well because they light the entire tank, and it's on a 12 hour timer. And I personally use a black light for a night time light because it not only looks cool, but it doesn't bother the snake, and it makes stuff in the tank glow. Hope my answer was helpful.
 
Corn snakes can't see red light from those red glass bulbs, so if you want to watch them at night it's best to have a red light bulb. During the day florescent is perfectly okay.
 
akki_neko said:
Corn snakes can't see red light from those red glass bulbs, so if you want to watch them at night it's best to have a red light bulb. During the day florescent is perfectly okay.
Click to expand...

Said it before, I'll say it again. My cornsnake can see red light, I see no reason why other cornsnakes can't.
 
How do you know your corn can see Red Light? I thought this was not possible because they are nocturnal? Like i said, i use a black light.
 
I watched it and still don't see the point to your proof that your snake sees red light. It didn't move for a few minutes and then it did. So... please explain
 
She will follow the movement of my hand(at her discretion of course). She must see it, there can be no other explanation for her movements matching and being influenced by my hand's movements outside of the viv. The glass is 3/8" thick, the plywood is 3/4" thick.
 
Careful with that black light, Eugene....

I may have this wrong, but it is my understanding that because of the cone/rod structure in the snakes' eyes, they don't see the color red, but would still experience a "grey" light (monochrome) instead. So there is a light intensity they can use for vision, but it should be easy on the eyes. There was an article in reptile magazine sometime last year about lighting that addressed the vision question pretty well. Also, exo-terra has pretty good info on their website regarding light intensity, spectrum, etc. Very detailed.

I am certain, however, about the black light bulbs. They may look cool but the phosphorous coating which produces high amounts of UVA in the light which can be harmful to both the retina and the optic nerve and can cause blindness in the long run. They should be used only sparingly if at all. Maybe buried or behind the tank, to give a glow through crystals or something indirect would likely work for the effect and minimize the impact upon the reps.

All said, the light is what works for you, the corns just appreciate some ambient daylight in reasonable amounts, and no light at night at all to predate by.
 
Feanturi said:
I may have this wrong, but it is my understanding that because of the cone/rod structure in the snakes' eyes, they don't see the color red, but would still experience a "grey" light (monochrome) instead. So there is a light intensity they can use for vision, but it should be easy on the eyes.
Click to expand...

That supports my observations of my snake in red light.
She can definitely see using the light from the red LEDs but she is active in the evenings with the red lights on or off.
I attended a lecture given by George Zug where it was explained that snake's eyes had "modified rods" in lieu of cones. The subject was of interest to me but I'm not pushy and didn't get my question in at the end.
 
I'm behind ya Alan.

Yup, my snakes react to the lights, as far as looking directly at the light, then to me, then to the light, as if to say, "Hey, what's up, I wanted that light on/off...". I can't help it; observation, hypothesis, experimentation, conclusion. They see the light.
 
Oh, yeah, and for everybody's FYI, the article (which mainly addressed issues of UVB/UVC lighting, but is interesting nonetheless) can be found in the Feb. 2008 issue of Reptile Magazine, pp 16-18. It does talk briefly about the monochromatic (or quadrochromatic, really) issue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top