UV lights

I know that bps are nocturnal creatures and they dont need UV lights. But i was watching Austin Stevens the other night and there was a scene where he climbed 100f up to an Amazon tree and found a boa that is simlar to the ones on the surface. Now the boa found on the tree never climbs down and has very distint coloration (more vibrant) and pattern than the ones found on the surface ! Obviously the ones on the tree are very much exposed to sun rays (UV lights).

I see this happening here in my house as well, where in malaysia you will find house lizards everwhere. In the store where its mostly dark the lizards there are dark, almost black! But the lizards out side are fairer! They're the same type of lizards!

Most bps in the wild are dull and brown in color coz they dwell in holes during the day and hunt at nights. Will a young bp which is exposed to uv lights 24/7, keep its vibrant coloration when growing ?

Check this out man ... should be a good starting point.

http://www.ball-pythons.net/index.ph...ewtopic&t=5469

Thx for the link Led. But it doensnt really answer my question. Theres a good point there about sun ray providing vitamin D through the skin. Is this true ? IS it UV that is providing the vit d and will this actually helps bp to retain its vibrant color ?

Maybe it does help them retain some color(I say some, because no matter what you do, they are going to lose color through time), but if you think about it, does it really make your ball python more healthy? Or is it purely aesthetic? Then, you have to think...sure, it keeps my ball pythons pattern vibrant and pretty, but is it worth the stress of having a UV light on all the time? I've heard they can't see UV light, but I've used one in the past, and my bp would look up at the light as soon as I turned it on, which makes me think they can see it. So lighting up their cage for long periods of time..when they're nocturnal. Seems it may stress them out. In my opinion, possibly stressing out my ball python just for the mere aesthetic purpose of keeping a brighter pattern isn't worth it to me. But if you want to bring your bp out in the sun for a bit everyday, go ahead. It may or may not help retain his color, but I'm sure he'd appreciate the fresh air and all. ;)

As others say...that's just my two cents.:twocents: :)

Fair enough Cody. Some people here using red light 24/7. They can see the lights but not the uv rays. Im not using any uth heating so lamp heat is my primary heat source. In addition, my enclosures are big enough that the light is only covering half the surface. .

Ive been using 2 types of bulps lately; sun glow and night glow. I switched em both to simulate day and night. But now ive switched to only using night glow 24/7. She seems to be loving it now. With SunGlow she would come out only after i switched to NightGlow, about 7pm or so. Now, with only NightGlow, she would come out as early as 3pm! She doesnt seem to be bothered by it. I dont think she notice it.

I love my bps and im not gonna love them less if they end dull looking. But if the UV light does benifit them i.e. vibrant skin, then why not?

People use red lights 24/7 because ball pythons can't see the red spectrum of light, so it doesn't stress them at all.

And I have the NiteGlo bulb aswell. My bp didn't mind it, but I found that after I stopped using the light altogether and just rely on my UTH, she's out more. Well...she doesn't really explore her enclosure much, but with the light on, she'd be right in her hide. But with no light, she puts half her body out and just hangs out in the open more.

And yes, if you think it won't stress them out with the uv light on or anything, and it may benefit them, then of course why not? ;) I guess I'm more for the "if its not broke, don't fix it" way of life. :P