General Care Discussion :: Reptile sight

[slider_keeper]

I have been so happy with the Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB) that I didn't take a huge factor into account. I will explain, I have noticed after reading several articles and research papers that the light hue emitted from a MVB does not really emit the full spectrum of light. It is more of a darker hue like late afternoon or early morning. I use the 100w Powersun and have had great success with it. But I'm coming to the conclusion after many reads about full spectrum artificial light that I might be limiting my turtle’s sight. Basically due to the low lux readings of my bulb, which produces heat and emits UVA/UVB, is producing light levels seen in the wild during dusk and dawn. I can admit I was one of the first to jump all over the opportunity to only run one bulb. But seeing this has opened my eyes a bit. I have followed Frances Baines, Bob MacCargar and several others in the reptile research world (mainly dealing with reptile lighting). In my readings of their materials I have found that using only a MVB is causing the spectrum of light my turtle sees thru is mimicking dusk and dawn conditions found in the wild. This is interesting because the UVB (I don’t know for sure without a UVB meter) seems to be sufficient, again without D3 blood samples, I really don’t know what he is producing in the D3 process. As for the full spectrum issue I’m learning that multiple bulbs are needed to meet the LUX requirements for my turtle to see to his fullest potential. I’m in the process of learning more about reptile lighting (mainly for the aquatic turtles we all care for. Dr. Brames and Frances Baines wrote an interesting article called “Reptile Lighting is a Process Not a Bulb”, I also have viewed Bob MacCargar’s website on Reptile lighting. It seems to me I will be doing some modifications to my current lighting for Toku’s tank and maybe I will see him in a different light, if you know what I mean;) This is going to be a slow transformation, being I’m now talking about a lighting system that cost more money. Anyways, I just wanted to share what I’m seeing in the research world of lighting for our reptiles. It is so amazing seeing the progression of reptile lighting over the years. I hope these wonderful folks keep up the hard work so we can all benefit and more importantly our reptiles can live strong, healthy lives and live in the most natural conditions indoors possible. I have a small Christmas list for some meters and if I’m lucky Santa will deliver. Then I can dive head first into my own findings regarding my aquatic lighting setup. And maybe better help to understand what our turtles really need in the light spectrum, with lux and uv compared to tempurature seen in their natural habitat.

[steve]

That's pretty interesting, I would have never considered that aspect. What other bulbs will you use? Also, most RES do not stare into their bulbs for significant periods, so I wonder what the full, if any, impact there it.

Here's a link to a PDF of the article for anyone interested: http://www.ivis.org/journals/exoticdvm/9-3/brames.pdf

[slider_keeper]

Steve I plan to stay with the MVB and add a 5000k full spectrum florescent, I might run dual 5000k bulbs the length of the tank. I'm not really sure what would be the best brand to replicate the sun's light spectrum.This should cover the visual aspect for Toku to see as naturally as possible in artificial lighting. I'm hoping for a Lux meter and a UVB meter for christmas, to see what the readings are outside, so I can try and best replicate that over his tank. Being his tank is in my bedroom. I might have to move him to my guess room because it will be considerably brighter. I did a comparison of my hands contrast under natural sunlight, and under the Powersun bulb, I could visually see a difference in the contrast of my hand under the different light sources. For this reason I think Toku is not seeing all the correct colors as he would outside. This could be having a adverse effect on him psychologically. There is some really good articles about the spectrum aspect of lighting for reptiles. I basically just google different phrases for reptile lighting i.e.; "full spectrum light for reptiles". I have seen recommendations about using several different lights that come on in a sequence to replicate morning then turn off in reverse order to replicate afternoon. I actually like the idea but as one could imagine it will get quite costly to setup a complex lighting system like this. This is something I might invest in when I have the big tank built. But as you could imagine for a college student, that will be quite some time in the future. I thing I'm sure of is this would best replicate the natural environment of any animal. Psychologically speaking, this could have a huge advantage. Thanks for posting the link I never thought of that;)

[slider_keeper]

This is another outstanding article by Frances Baines, discussing the light spectrum and reptiles. Personally I think it is a must read to understand the lighting requirements.
http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-h ... light.aspx

[ljapa]

Thanks for posting both of these. I was considering an mvb when my incandescent burned out. Now I'm rethinking.

[steve]

Thanks, that article is very informative. I've been pretty happy with halogen-based lamps, and that seems to produce a wide spectrum range. Trying to replicate the sun and it's different hours will be very tricky. My RES respond differently from each other when outside, so I wonder if they would benefit from a complex system that closely mimics the sun.

[slider_keeper]

ljapa the MVB is a really good bulb, being that is produces heat and UVA/B it closely mimics what the sun whould do when basking on a log. Unlike some reptiles sliders are sun bathers, they get their UV rays when in direct contact with sunlight. I still recommend a MVB but you will still need a bright light source to produce the full spectrum of light.

Yeah Steve, my turtle reacts the same way under direct sunlight he is super skittish to me. I believe it has something to do with the full spectrum of light from the short wave lengths all the way to the long wave lengths. It would be cool to have a morning, mid-day, afternoon light spectrum over the tank. With the changing seasons where the lights are set to be on shorter periods in the winter and longer in the summer. To set it up with a gradual change over the course of the seasons. This would have to have an effect on the breeding side of the house. Yep if I ever get the money I diffinitely will try this out. It would required several bulbs and several programmable timers. I believe it would also require a larger tank as well to correspond to the number of lights hanging over it.

[steve]

Would background light... such as light coming through from windows and reflecting off other surfaces be sufficient, even if it's not direct?

[slider_keeper]

I would think so it could help with the ambient light. The problem is in cold climates such as ours, the light isn't bright enough in my house for ambient lighting. I use energy efficient curtains to cut down on the energy bill. These curtains are thick and darken the room dramatically. Someone that doesn't care for that could use the ambient light outside a window:)

[slider_keeper]

I'll do a measurement of this one day thru my North facing panel windows and see what the Lux is compared to outside. The only problem I would see is it would still be like the turtle is in the shade of a tree, vegetation or banking. I already know what my Christmas present is (we are horrible with Christmas secrecy) lol. So I will be able to do some more indepth studies of lighting.