do monitors need uv lighting

[nocajudo]

hey do monitors need artificial uva or uvb in indoor inclosures perticuarly storrs monitors
cheers ben

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

yes they need uv,
all monitors need uv

 

[nocajudo]

thnks for that ssssnakeman your more help in the threads then you are in chat lmao jokes lol, i heard that they didnt need it and as told with my ackies off , who i thought to be a respected breeder (wont say names) told me that they dont need it and he doesnt use it on his ackies up to his lacys and they all seemed fine any way more opinions people plz

 

[Tristis]

they dont need it at all

 

[hornet]

nope, dont need it

 

[Adam]

We use it on all our monitors.

 

[peterjohnson64]

I certainly use it on my monitors. The question of whether they need it or not is to look at what it is used for. I am not a scientist so maybe someone in that field can explain more but basically UV gives you vitamin D that helps in the absoption of calcium. You could assume that an animal that has evolved in a way that it spends a lot of it's time in the sun would use that vitamin D to aid in calcium absorption. An animal that has evolved to rarely be in sunlight you could assume would have developed other ways to absorb calcium. It's your call but I reckon that providing it when they don't need it will do no harm but the reverse may be different.

There was also a story recently on a TV show (and take that how you will) that said that we are seeing calcium deficiencies in kids now as we keep them out of the sun.

 

[cris]

I never spoken to a vet that says they dont need it, nor have a spoken to a breeder who says they do need it :? it cant hurt them so why not.

 

[Magpie]

I don't know if they need it.
I do know I only managed to get my ackies to breed when they had UV.

 

[bylo]

i have googled it a few times and some reports say there monitors have lived for 15 years without uv.
personally I use uv for all my reptiles from monitors pythons and dragons.
they get it in the wild and they should get it in captivity

 

[Sdaji]

i have googled it a few times and some reports say there monitors have lived for 15 years without uv.
personally I use uv for all my reptiles from monitors pythons and dragons.
they get it in the wild and they should get it in captivity

What species of ticks and intestinal worms do you provide your reptiles with? Do you simulate predators' attacks from time to time, giving them wounds? Do you leave their wounds to fester? Do you provide your baby reptiles with a 99% chance of death before they reach one year of age?

Nature is not the benevolent carer we would sometimes like to believe she is. Not everything she provides is necessary or beneficial.

Many consecutive generations of healthy monitors of most (possibly all) of the small monitors have been produced without any UV along the way. I've kept a Varanus gilleni or two and have never found there to be a difference in growth rate, breeding, behaviour or apparent health with or without it. I know of Ackies kept without UV which have thrived and bred for several generations, in a few cases without calcium or multivitamin supplements (they were fed rich and varied diets and I don't suggest anyone try skimping on the supplements with or without UV unless you're a good goanna nutritionist and know exactly what you're doing). Unlike some pythons, standard UV provision certainly won't hurt sun loving monitors such as Ackies, and it's easy enough to provide, so don't be squeamish about using it if you're going to feel weird about them not having it.

I know of quite a few pythons which have freaked out when kept under UV light for 12 hours per day, refusing to feed etc, but recovered fairly quickly after a week or so of it being taken away.

 

[bylo]

OK i get your point Sdaji

all my reptiles have no problems with UV-UVB
And Iam not going to simulate the bad points you mentioned

 

[nocajudo]

yeah im putting uv so dot woz

 

[bigguy]

I have kept and bred monitors for 20 years. They do not need uv lighting. It wont hurt them if you install UV, but it is not needed.

Dragon lizards definately need UV for them to produce vitD3, which in turn allows them to absorb calcium. Snakes and monitors from my understanding, DO NOt produce their own vitD3 from UV lighting. They in fact get their vitD3 from the preys livers when devoured.

It still amazes me when I hear of people giving 8, 10, 12 hours of UV to pythons. Dont you realise that pythons are nocturnal. Not much UV from the moon. Some pythons may bask in the early morning sun ever so often in Winter, but its never more then a few hours and its only to warm up after a cold night.

 

[Retic]

Over a great many years and many different monitor species I have never given any of them UV and they have thrived. I think it is pretty well an accepted fact that it is not needed. I must admit I do chuckle when people say they give it to them anyway, all it does is add to your electricity bill and cost a fortune in UV tubes that need changing every few months.

 

[nocajudo]

yeah i dont no now so many people do and so many people dont im gunna start a poll