difference between UVB and UVA rays and how they affect your reptiles but for those novice herp owners out there get a pen and some paper, it's time to learn something.Lets start with the basics, and we won't get all "sciency". Light is part of a spectrum called the Electromagnetic Spectrum which includes all sorts of fun stuff like Gamma Rays, X-rays, ultraviolet, infra-red radiation, microwaves, and radio waves.
Ultraviolet A (UVA) is the long ultraviolet wave and is part of the visible spectrum for reptiles, however they can see colors and patterns differently than humans because of this extra dimension to their vision. There is so much more to know about how UVA light affect reptiles, but like we agreed on before, we're not going to get all "sciency".
Ultraviolet B (UVB) is the medium ultraviolet wave and this type of light is natural sunglight. This is the important one, these are the UV rays that faciliate the photo-biosynthesis of previtamin D3 (cholecalciferol
) in your reptiles skin. Huh? Simply put, they need it so they don't get metabolic bone disorder, which is very, very bad.Now this is the part that most novice reptile owners don't like, UVB bulbs are relatively more expensive than those regular UVA bulbs and if you own a diurnal reptile, meaning active during the day, your scaley friend will need a good 8-10 hours of UVB light everyday. So pull out your credit card, thumb your nose at the down economy and get the proper heating and lighting for your reptiles. If the price of the proper lighting scares you then skip the reptile hobby altogether, it is not fair to your reptile to live in an environment that isn't properly set up.
Okay, we realize that most reptile owners only love their reptiles right about the time they drop the crickets, (or mice), into the terrarium but other than that, the reptiles are on their own and are generally ignored. However, that doesn't mean they should go without the proper heating and lighting, especially adequate UVB exposure.
With that in mind we, with the help of our friends at Zilla, have devised a 7-step process to completely automate your reptile's heating and lighting needs and once it's setup you won't have to raise another finger. (Don't worry, you can get it setup in less than 10 minutes).
- Get your hands on the 9.5in Combo Dome by Zilla.
- Get the appropriate sized heat bulbs for your terrarium.
- Get the 23 watt 7in UVB circular bulb.
- Get the 24/7 digital timer power center.
- Install bulbs into 9.5in Combo Dome.
- Plug 9.5in Combo Dome into the 24/7 timer power center.
- Set timer to turn on at 8am and turn off at 6pm. You're finished.
things to keep in mind outside of the seven steps above and one of them is to make sure your terrarium reaches the optimum temperature. You don't want to come home one day and find a frozen reptile so use a thermometer to know if you need a larger wattage bulb.Also, in some areas of the world when the sun goes down and the lights turn off it gets a little cold, so if need be add a nocturnal heat source which can be done with a heat reflector dome and an infrared heat bulb set to the opposite side of your terrarium. This will provide a night time heat source and because it's an infrared heat bulb the light cannot be seen by your reptile.
And finally, it never hurts to supplement your reptile's diet outside of their regular diet. Try Jungle's Reptile Xtra supplements as well as Zilla's Calcium Food Spray.
Well, there you go. Now reptile rookies out there can keep enjoying their reptiles only when they feed them and at the same time the heating and lighting will be completely automated to prevent that nasty metabolic bone disorder.
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