Night lights, can you clarify once and for all?

[Tigerlily]

I've read so many different things about night lights for snakes and whether they disturb them or not.

Just to clarify, I'm not looking to heat the cage - just to give it a little light so that I can watch my snake without disturbing him. He only likes to move around in the dark and it's such a shame because watching him is so soothing, like an aquarium.

Back in the caveman days (10 years ago haha) when I kept snakes I had one of those party blacklights; it never seemed to bother my ball pythons and I was under the misguided impression that the UV would be good for them... it also suited my lifestyle at the time, ahem...

Now, I read so many differing statements on whether snakes can see red/blue light etc; does it really matter if they can "see" the light or not? Will that still disrupt their circadian rhythm, even if it's very very low wattage? I don't intend to keep it on all night; just for a few hours before I go to bed at a level where he'll still feel comfortable moving around.

Is a low watt infrared the way to go?

I also read in another thread that someone uses blue led night lights. Thoughts on this, your experiences?


Thanks for any help

 

[Jacknife]

Pretty much if you can see it, they can. though 'blacklights', night globes ect. can minimise the disruption caused by lighting a great deal...

 

[JAS101]

for night viewing in the crocs enclosure I use red LED`s ..

 

[Chris1]

I cant imagine it would matter with snakes since they're nocturnal anyway, its a problem when people use them for things like beardies.

The moon casts a low light at night, so pitch blackness isn't natural for them either.

 

[Bart70]

I have 3 'blue' led's from a blue led light strip in the top front of one of my enclosures. Casts a nice dim blue 'moonlight' throughout the enclosure of a night. Not sure what the snake thinks of it...he doesn't seem to mind. Give a great effect and makes it possible to see what the snake is up to in the dark if need be.

 

[Snowman]

I cant imagine it would matter with snakes since they're nocturnal anyway, its a problem when people use them for things like beardies.

The moon casts a low light at night, so pitch blackness isn't natural for them either.

Everyone knows there is a lot less herp activity on full moon nights though.

 

[Planky]

has no one else seen the Ball pythons remark?

- - - Updated - - -

Everyone knows there is a lot less herp activity on full moon nights though.

I second this. Trying to find geckos in a full moon is very hard compared to low moon light nights

 

[lucaroselli123]

I had a light bulb dome that was glow in the dark and it worked quite well, but i dont think its enough to watch the snake from afar, i think its more for the snakes benefit.

 

[andynic07]

As Snowman pointed out there is a lot less nocturnal herp activity with a full moon so they prefer to sneak around in as dark as possible scenarios. Any visible light spectrum can be seen by a snake though including red and blue so if you want something for your viewing purposes then go for one of these colours at night but be aware that they also produce heat and allow for this.

 

[Rogue5861]

Blue or red leds work well, ive also used 25w and 40w blue party globes for nocturnal species. Having a dimmer on the leds helps get a little less intence light.

The only use with coloured leds is that is the only colour they produce, a blue will produce a solid blue colour and not a "moon" effect. Running a white single led or small 12v led dimmed would make the best for viewing, could also get some cellophane and make up a small coloured lens (this should still produce a little bit of white).


Rick

 

[swampie]

Perfectly good explanation for the "ball python remark" Planky, Tigerlily used to live overseas..........

 

[creaturesofhabit]

@ Tigerlily I have a few blue led lights in the ceiling in my rep room that I use in breeding season when I need to go in there and don't want to disturb everyone by turning on the bright fluros, they also work well when feeding shy hatchlings. The blue is not as bright as the photo makes it out to be

 

[Tigerlily]

I'm still a little confused. What I'm gathering is basically:

A. Snakes can see coloured light, so it doesn't matter whether you use red or blue - if you decide to use some light it's up to your own personal preference


B. "blacklight" (UV light that makes things look glowy) is less visible/disruptive to them than LED? [MENTION=35891]Jacknife[/MENTION]?


C. A lot of people seem to use LED lights to some extent with no ill effects on the snake, true? The dimmer the better?


Thanks

 

[andynic07]

I'm still a little confused. What I'm gathering is basically:

A. Snakes can see coloured light, so it doesn't matter whether you use red or blue - if you decide to use some light it's up to your own personal preference


B. "blacklight" (UV light that makes things look glowy) is less visible/disruptive to them than LED? [MENTION=35891]Jacknife[/MENTION]?


C. A lot of people seem to use LED lights to some extent with no ill effects on the snake, true? The dimmer the better?


Thanks

What bit are you confused about?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mr.Self-destruct]

Using red lights or low intensity "moonlight" bulbs won't cause any harm. You'll enjoy the snakes more, they'll keep doing snake stuff. Everybody wins. I've never noticed a difference after 6 years of using night lights and 20years of not.

 

[smileysnake]

i use an infrared for all my pythons they are nocturnal animals so will be active mostly at night..my pythons have always had infrared light of a night because i love watching them exploring aswell....if i turn the light on in my room they stop moving for a little while then they will go and hide turn light out again they will come back out...has not done them any harm