Red Light or No Red Light

I just moved my Enchi girl up to a 40G breeder tank from a 20G, to make room for my new Pewter boy.
Both tanks have a UTH on a thermostat. I have a CHE hanging above the 20G and decided to go with a red lamp on a dimmer to help heat the 40G.
This seems like it is working ok. Being on a dimmer I can adjust the level and I can see what's going on when it gets dark.
I am thinking of changing the CHE to a red light on the 20G.
I mentioned using red lights on a facebook group and a couple said to get rid of the lights.
The only issue I can think of is humidity. The majority of the screen tops is covered with lexan. I am using cypress mulch.
Any reason other than maybe trouble with humidity to not use these lights?

I have some tanks with red lights on dimmers. I use layered Cypress and Eco Earth in my tanks and have my screens covered as well. Humidity is no problem for me.

Now I will admit that the tanks WILL be replaced by Plastic enclosures down the trail.

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If you're using CHE's I see no reason to use a light. Lights can disrupt their night/day schedule and stress them out. I'd never used a red light on my boa before, so when I started to use it to view him at night, he spent 5 days straight without leaving his water dish until I turned it off. My bp grew up with one so he isn't as affected by it, but he still stays hidden more with the red light than without it. I'd say don't bother with the lights unless you turn them off at night.

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Originally Posted by mcamnl

I just moved my Enchi girl up to a 40G breeder tank from a 20G, to make room for my new Pewter boy.
Both tanks have a UTH on a thermostat. I have a CHE hanging above the 20G and decided to go with a red lamp on a dimmer to help heat the 40G.
This seems like it is working ok. Being on a dimmer I can adjust the level and I can see what's going on when it gets dark.
I am thinking of changing the CHE to a red light on the 20G.
I mentioned using red lights on a facebook group and a couple said to get rid of the lights.
The only issue I can think of is humidity. The majority of the screen tops is covered with lexan. I am using cypress mulch.
Any reason other than maybe trouble with humidity to not use these lights?

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I did a lot of research on lights everything i found says that they can't see red lights and i run red lights on all my BP's and have no problems with their movement at night they hide during the day like normal and roam around at night like normal.

They can definitely see red light. I once tested out my bp by holding his lamp up but turned to the side so it wouldn't go directly into his eyes. I flipped it on and he jumped. This lamp had been on for a long time, didn't have time to cool off, so it wasn't the temp.

They can see it but they're probably generally unaffected by it if they're used to it.

I notice better nighttime activity and more distinct activity periods when I don't use lights at night with my snakes.


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Originally Posted by CloudtheBoa

They can definitely see red light. I once tested out my bp by holding his lamp up but turned to the side so it wouldn't go directly into his eyes. I flipped it on and he jumped. This lamp had been on for a long time, didn't have time to cool off, so it wasn't the temp.

They can see it but they're probably generally unaffected by it if they're used to it.

I notice better nighttime activity and more distinct activity periods when I don't use lights at night with my snakes.


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Red reptile bulbs have a color corrected spectrum and provide little visible light(reptiles do not see red) so they do not interfere with day/night cycles. These bulbs work well as an inexpensive 24 hour heat source and work in the domes, combination or bi-light fixtures.

I would say as far as visible light depends on the quality of the bulb.

Op you said you use uth so what I would do is take the temp of the cool side without any lights or che and if it stays around or above 78 then I wouldn't use the light but if your cool side is lower than that I would place the domes over the cool side and dim them to keep them around 80. I personally don't use them as far as heat or viewing but I do use non visible reptile lights when feeding bc the room is very dark and it gives me the ability to see without disturbing them, I'll use them to check on them during the night or if I spot a mess also.

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I'm a big fan of the red light bulbs. I use them on all my tanks. You'll be fine with them.