Lighting

[kontron]

my girlfriend used to have a red heat bulb for her b/p roo-(paul). it was very bright and would light up a good area of the room. i thought it would be stressing out the snake. but she told me red lights are okay due to balls not being able to see the red spectrum. i still got some bulbs that were red heat lights, but the red was a lot dimmer. it only illuminates inside the cage now. i want to put the other red light back, cause it lets me see everything in the snakes cage without using a flashlight. would this other red heat light be okay? are balls realy blind to red light? and how blind are balls? i noticed roo is very active when not shedding, but when her eyes get cloudy and she goes into a shed, she seems to not move around as much? roswell on the other hand is very active and searching for a dark place when he goes into a shed, even if his eyes are solid blue. he uses his toungue a lot more when his eyes are clouded over, leading me to think that balls can see a decent amount when not shedding or obstructed... whats the story?

[Marla]

Balls can't see in the ultraviolet or infrared portions of the light spectrum, but a red-coated bulb still provides visible light, just tinted red. This is similar to many other reptiles. I tested it with my crested geckos by trying different bulbs and checking their pupils for dilation, indicating that they were not responding to the light if dilated. Red, blue, and green bulbs all resulted in narrow pupils, but black and infrared light bulbs resulted in dilated pupils.

[kontron]

so that means red lights are still okay? i know red lights are used for night vision. it means you can sit in a room all night long in red lights, and then go outside in the dark, and not have any loss of vision cause the red lights are like night.... thanks..

[Marla]

Infrared lights are okay, red "party" bulbs are NOT okay. They ARE within visible light spectrum and will stress the snake and affect its light cycle. I hope this clears that up.

[elevatethis]

The "night time" red bulbs that zoo med makes are great for 24/7 heat.

[kontron]

oh i would never use a party bulb... but i would like to get a red the has more light area, so i can see inside at night without using a flashlight. i wouldnt want to disturb them.