Indoor Jackson Lights....Advice

[Theokoles]

Hello Informants,

I have a 2-3 month old male jackson. Right know he has a UVA and UVB light on his cage. I was just wondering if they should be on and off in a 12 hour interval cycle. Also whats the difference between the uva and uvb?

 

[Venutus1]

Hello Informants,

I have a 2-3 month old male jackson. Right know he has a UVA and UVB light on his cage. I was just wondering if they should be on and off in a 12 hour interval cycle. Also whats the difference between the uva and uvb?

Hi Theokoles,

Yes 12 hours on and 12 off is a good day/night cycle.

What kind of UV bulb are you using ?? Fluorescent?

Because you should have a dome light with an incandescent bulb for heat in it too.

The below is from the Arcadia UK website and it sums it up very well.

Hope it helps!

Cheers!
Todd
www.lightyourreptiles.com
[email protected]

UVB:
Light Most reptiles need to synthesize vitamin D3 in their skin for their healthy growth for which UV light falling within a particular wave band, known as UVB (290-320 nm), is required. Although Vitamin D3 can be commercially obtained from animal sources, and given to reptiles with their food, studies have indicated that dietary D3 cannot replace the D3 synthesized in the skin from sunlight, even in reptiles injected with supplemental vitamin D3. The vitamin D type derived from plants is vitamin D2 and is not suitable for proper calcium metabolism. For the best results, vitamin D3 must be obtained from regular exposure to UVB light, either from natural sunlight or specialist reptile lamps. The Arcadia reptile lamp range has been created in order to allow reptiles and other exotic pets to be maintained without the health problems related to poor calcium metabolism.
UVA:
Unlike humans, who have ‘trichromatic’ vision, enabling us to see only three primary colours - red, green and blue, we now know that many reptiles, amphibians and other species, have ‘tetrachromatic’ vision. This enables them to see the shorter UVA wavelengths (320-400 nm) of the spectrum that form a part of natural sunlight. Reds are redder and greens are greener – life without UV would be the equivalent of us seeing everything in black and white, only worse. This UVA, or fourth primary, can be critical for behaviour and even affect appetite. A reluctant feeder may need UVA light to stimulate its appetite. UVA is also needed to induce reproductive behaviour. Lizards have been found to possess ultra violet reflectance patterns on their skin, which indicate reproductive glands in particular. Female panther chameleons seek out UV light when preparing to lay eggs. Depriving a reptile of UVA light would be like making it live in a darkened room.

 

[carol5208]

I adjust my lights to the time change. If it is light outside then my cage lights are pretty much on. I try and simulate like it is outdoors. but 12 on and 12 off is good also