Bulb question

I just bought my baby ball python a new heating bulb. I got him a 50 watt infrared spot bulb, but it's black instead of red. Will he be okay or do they have to have red light?

the color does not matter. :gj:

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Originally Posted by tttaylorrr

the color does not matter. :gj:

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Thank you! I read on some other post that black bulbs were harmful to ball pythons:( So thats relieving to hear:)

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Originally Posted by Traceur

Thank you! I read on some other post that black bulbs were harmful to ball pythons:( So thats relieving to hear:)

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i can't think of any possible reason that a black bulb would be harmful to a ball python while a red bulb would not be...sounds like a bunch of malarkey to me. ;)

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Originally Posted by tttaylorrr

i can't think of any possible reason that a black bulb would be harmful to a ball python while a red bulb would not be...sounds like a bunch of malarkey to me. ;)

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The person claimed it had something to do the UV Rays? But they did state they could be entirely wrong. But as much as a paranoia as I am, I had to check and see if it was true or not

Lol, lucky to be a part of this forum:D

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Originally Posted by Traceur

The person claimed it had something to do the UV Rays? But they did state they could be entirely wrong.

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all light bulbs give off some UV radiation, regardless of color. ironically, some people will argue that you should provide your snakes with UV light for the "health benefits". there is 0 scientific evidence to back that up, but some people will argue otherwise.

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Originally Posted by Traceur

But as much as a paranoia as I am, I had to check and see if it was true or not

Lol, lucky to be a part of this forum:D

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always get your information from multiple sources to ensure you're getting correct and vetted information. the only stupid question is the one not asked! :gj:

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Originally Posted by tttaylorrr

all light bulbs give off some UV radiation, regardless of color. ironically, some people will argue that you should provide your snakes with UV light for the "health benefits". there is 0 scientific evidence to back that up, but some people will argue otherwise.


always get your information from multiple sources to ensure you're getting correct and vetted information. the only stupid question is the one not asked! :gj:

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Sweet, thanks for the explanation! I myself only believed that red bulbs were the way to go. I didn't even think the color would make a difference until seeing that post, but thank you for proving that untrue otherwise:)

They definitely don't need red light. People use red lights for nighttime heat under the mistaken impression that reptiles can't see red, so you can watch them without them knowing. But ball pythons actually can see red light. If you don't believe me, try flashing the lamp at your snake's face and see if you can get a reaction. If the snake reacts, it can obviously see that light.

So if you want to give your snake actual darkness at night you need a bulb that produces no visible light at all. A ceramic heat emitter is essentially that. You screw it into a regular socket, and it makes a lot of heat, but no visible light.

The other reason why a CHE is better than an incandescent bulb of any color is that you can use it with a thermostat, which will turn it on and off as needed in order to keep the cage at the right temperature. If you did that with an incandescent bulb, you'd have this light flickering on and off all the time until the light bulb just burned out. That means you can have a CHE at a higher wattage than you actually need, and it won't overheat the cage - the thermostat will control it. But if your room gets colder, and you need more heat to get the right temperature in the cage, you'll have enough capacity to achieve that and you won't need to touch a thing - it will just adjust automatically, as needed.

Then whatever you do for light for the sake of a day/night cycle can be totally independent of heat.

The UV bulbs people talk about when they talk about providing UV are fluorescent and not at all the same as a black incandescent bulb. The black bulb won't hurt your snake either, but again - your snake can still see it just like you can. So it's darker than a bright light, but it's not actually all the way dark.

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Originally Posted by Coluber42

They definitely don't need red light. People use red lights for nighttime heat under the mistaken impression that reptiles can't see red, so you can watch them without them knowing. But ball pythons actually can see red light. If you don't believe me, try flashing the lamp at your snake's face and see if you can get a reaction. If the snake reacts, it can obviously see that light.

So if you want to give your snake actual darkness at night you need a bulb that produces no visible light at all. A ceramic heat emitter is essentially that. You screw it into a regular socket, and it makes a lot of heat, but no visible light.

The other reason why a CHE is better than an incandescent bulb of any color is that you can use it with a thermostat, which will turn it on and off as needed in order to keep the cage at the right temperature. If you did that with an incandescent bulb, you'd have this light flickering on and off all the time until the light bulb just burned out. That means you can have a CHE at a higher wattage than you actually need, and it won't overheat the cage - the thermostat will control it. But if your room gets colder, and you need more heat to get the right temperature in the cage, you'll have enough capacity to achieve that and you won't need to touch a thing - it will just adjust automatically, as needed.

Then whatever you do for light for the sake of a day/night cycle can be totally independent of heat.

The UV bulbs people talk about when they talk about providing UV are fluorescent and not at all the same as a black incandescent bulb. The black bulb won't hurt your snake either, but again - your snake can still see it just like you can. So it's darker than a bright light, but it's not actually all the way dark.

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That's good to know, thank you:)
An equal amount of people said they either can or can't see the red light. But knowing this, it really helps. I control the lighting through my room so he knows when it's day and night. But hopefully a darker bulb will be better than the red one I was using currently?

Also, I'll look into those heat emitters. Thank you!

Black lights designed for the old velvet posters and Halloween decorations (they produce the glowing effect) produce uvb C which is said to be harmful.

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