UV % For Corn?

I've looked into UV for snakes, and though I know they don't necessarily need it, it seems it would definitely benefit them. I currently have a spare controller and 2% UV bulb, but my corn has red rings around his eyes (black in the middle) so I'm not sure if it would hurt him? He has two places he commonly hides, and other than that spends a lot of his time under the substrate.

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Originally Posted by mzh3de

I've looked into UV for snakes, and though I know they don't necessarily need it, it seems it would definitely benefit them. I currently have a spare controller and 2% UV bulb, but my corn has red rings around his eyes (black in the middle) so I'm not sure if it would hurt him? He has two places he commonly hides, and other than that spends a lot of his time under the substrate.

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There is no need to give a corn UV. They are nocturnal and get all the vitamins they need from whole food items. They do not need UVB, like many Lizards, for example, to absorb the nutrients they need.

I doubt it would hurt him at all, but is unnecessary. Also, make sure it doesn't raise temps too much. Corns do not need, or like, as much heat as a BP, for example.

If you want it for a day/night cycle, I would say it's no problem. However, he will probably choose to stay hidden as opposed to basking in it. I use fluorescent lights in my snake cages for day/night cycle.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mzh3de

I've looked into UV for snakes, and though I know they don't necessarily need it, it seems it would definitely benefit them. I currently have a spare controller and 2% UV bulb, but my corn has red rings around his eyes (black in the middle) so I'm not sure if it would hurt him? He has two places he commonly hides, and other than that spends a lot of his time under the substrate.

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I think it would absolutely be worth giving a try. I would go with something gentle and place a "spot source" close to his heat source. I would use one of these from Arcadia for a colubrid, placed next to a radiant heat panel. A 2% bulb certainly won't hurt him, just give him hides (which it sounds like he already has) and put it on a normal light timer and voila.

There are a variety of sources suggesting uvb may be beneficial for snakes and several anecdotal reports of various crepuscular and/or nocturnal species basking under UV light when provided.

Thank you :) I was mostly worried about it hurting his eyes, as I've read somewhere that the red means he's more sensitive to light, but hopefully he'll be able to hide from it easily.

I no longer keep corns, but never provided any type of UV lighting. My reasoning was simple, they don't need it, why bother?

I suppose it can't hurt, though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mzh3de

I've looked into UV for snakes, and though I know they don't necessarily need it, it seems it would definitely benefit them. I currently have a spare controller and 2% UV bulb, but my corn has red rings around his eyes (black in the middle) so I'm not sure if it would hurt him? He has two places he commonly hides, and other than that spends a lot of his time under the substrate.

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Amelanistic corn snakes are the corn snakes most sensitive to excessive UV light. Amelanistic corns have eyes with pink pupils, while your snake has black pupils. Therefore, your snake is not an amelanistic. How much UV is excessive is an open question, but at least you are not starting with an overly sensitive snake.

If you do use a UV bulb, I suggest putting it on a day/night cycle. After all, there is no natural UV light at night.

Thanks for that- I'm horrible at identifying corn morphs :P I think I'm planning on getting a small ~2% bulb and putting it on a 12 hour cycle, beside a RHP depending on how much heat it gives off.