Whatcha Think Of These Bulbs?

[Zen Reptiles]

Rather than using just normal incandescent or halogen bulbs for basking,
what about a full spectrum light bulb, like those used in places that are
dark for several months of the year, or to help with Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Does anyone use these? And more importantly, does anyone know how this
would benefit our chameleons?

http://www.evitaminstore.com/Clear-Full-Spectrum-Light-Bulb-27166.html

http://www.toolsforwellness.com/verbul100wat.html Verilux also makes a great
linear tube for reptiles as well I believe.

http://www.buylightfixtures.com/60-watt-full-spectrum-light-bulbs.aspx

http://www.gohealthynow.com/product/CB002

 

[kinyonga]

Just for the "quality" of the light?

 

[yoza717]

If nothing else, it makes the colors of your chameleons look better because of the whiter light.
I had two bulbs similar to this that I was using as continuous lighting for taking photos. I measured UVB on those and it only showed a 001 reading (one of my other regular daylight incandescent bulbs read 001 also). So I will stick to the cheaper bulbs as a heat source.

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Moreso for the quality of life for the chameleons/other lizards. These lights were developed specifically to combat
Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is when people get moody due to lack of sunlight. If a simple change in the light
spectrum can affect that, I wonder if it can affect the behavior, health and well being of our pets.

From http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=67

2) Chameleons have a wider visible range than us humans. Along with insects and some birds it is a pretty safe bet that chameleon vision extends into the ultra-violet. UV-A (commonly referred to as “blacklight”) ranges from 400nm down to about 350nm. Regular household lighting tends to only provide the colors that we humans can see so using it for chameleon lighting would be like putting red light bulbs in your house. We would certainly regard that as unnatural but would that red lighting affect your behaviour? There have been plenty of studies showing that full-spectrum lighting has important psychological and physiological effects on people. We don’t really know for sure how this applies to chameleons but there is certainly anecdotal evidence that UV-A affects the day to day behaviour and breeding potential of both birds and chameleons.

For millions of years it has been that an arboreal chameleon’s only source of heat is where the light comes from so a chameleon’s expectations of heat are closely linked to their view of light and chameleons rarely notice a heat source if it is not also a bright light. That is why we provide a basking lamp, not a basking heater or a hot rock.

Visible (400 to 700nm): By far the majority proportion of light reaching earth from the sun is in the visible range

From http://www.optics4kids.com/tutorials/chameleonschange.html

Since chameleons are active during the daytime, their retinas include cone cells. Different types of cone cell respond differently to light of different colors, so an animal with cone cells in its retina can see colors. (Many types of animals that are active only at night lack cone cells in their retinas, and cannot distinguish colors.)

A chameleon has a small light-sensitive spot on the top of its head. This "third eye" doesn’t form an image, so it is only a rudimentary eye. It is called "the parietal eye", and pages 26-27 in The Chameleon Handbook, by Francois LeBerre, shows where it is located on the chameleon’s head. In chameleons, the third eye is covered by scales, but in some other kinds of lizards, it is not covered. The third eye is only sensitive to violet and blue light: it ignores light of longer wavelengths.

I will try them out and let you guys know if I notice any differences with my animals. If it has the potential to affect human behavior/mood, it could have the potential to affect the behavior of reptiles, especially with our chameleon's specialized eyes.

 

[sandrachameleon]

My Uncles full spectrum lighting (he is affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder) dont put out much heat. perhaps there are different types, but for sure his would be useless for basking heat purposes. They're great lights for reading though!

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Really? In the links in my first post, they are either 60w or 100w,
I would think they would have similar heat output as normal
incandescent bulbs?

 

[sandrachameleon]

I checked the link (belatedly). I have doubt those would work for SAD, but yes they are tungsten filaments and should give off good heat and may provide a nice colour light for the chameleon cages. Worth a try.