Excellent post, and well written as always. As I mentioned in another post I've learned a lot from BNS over the years regarding boa care, and I like conversations related to the natural habitat and behaviors of snakes.Originally Posted by bns
There is no question that lighting will affect a boa’s behavior and I’m not just referring to day/night times (ratio). The amount of day/night ratio is important but less so than the changing of the ratio. What I mean by this is how the ratio applies to seasons and the effects it has on boa habits. Even boas on the equator are tuned in to seasonal changes. We know this because young are born at relatively the same time of year for wild boas…they are tuned in to their surroundings -day/ night ratio/temps. These surroundings can and should be applied to some extent while in captivity. Ok, few will disagree that providing a day night ratio in concert with temps and feeding that reflect the reality of those ratios (cooler in winter with shorter days, less food and the opposite for summer) is anything other than good housekeeping for your boa…but now let’s go back to lighting affecting boas.
I’ve done lighting many ways over the years and there is no question in my mind that direct lighting in the enclosure for boas is not the best way to provide a day/night cycle…or anything else for that matter. I’m not saying it can’t work, I’m not saying your boa will burst into flames and I’m not saying you shouldn’t turn on the light in the enclosure to enjoy your boa from time to time but it is not the best way and your snake will show you the truth with their behavior if you remove direct lighting in the enclosure. I know, some of you are thinking snakes bask in the sun and you would be correct but a few decades of gathering information on wild snakes will show anyone that they use the sun when it is required to raise their body temp…they are not into hanging out on the beach like humans, they would rather watch things from the shadows. I gather data on wild bull and hognose snakes every year for a local university (sometimes more than 10 a day) …the best time to find them is when outside temps are between 55 and 70 in early spring because they need the sun to reach their preferred body temp (and its time to breed).
Direct lighting in a boa enclosure can make them choose security over temp. It can cause undue stress. This is especially true for young boas. The very best way to control day/night cycle is with ambient light through a window in the room. This is also helpful for those of us who provide seasons…as the amount of daylight is shrinking the outside temp is also going down. If you don’t have a window use a light in the room on a timer and adjust the timer to coincide with the daylight length for your location. It doesn’t take much light…ever been in a rainforest? I use to try to mimic daylight hours from where the snake is from...crazy. Snakes have been around for a very long time. They have stuff written in their genes to respond to heat/light/cycles we only theorize on but even a Suriname boa that doesn't see anywhere near the day/night ratio in the homeland compared to here in MN will adapt and follow the massive change in ratio here with ease. Light has a power over boas...
Back to removing the light from inside the enclosure and your boa behaving differently…
Even young boa will move around during the day if they feel secure and lower light levels will help this. Even more so for adults. What do your boas look like when they are resting? I would have alarm bells going off in my head if I saw one of my boas tightly coiled in the corner and it wasn’t about going into shed or digestion. A secure boa will be loosely coiled, a ‘U’shape. None of this is written in stone and not all boas are the same but I challenge you to make some lighting changes and see for yourself…If you have met the other needs of your boa and remove direct lighting from the enclosure…you will see a change.
Hard to believe but this is only some of my thoughts on this...
I am dealing with a similar situation when it comes to providing lighting in the cages. Like the O/P, I have the cages in a room without light, not even tiny windows. The only artificial light option is from an overhead/ceiling fixture that can't be hooked up to a timer.
I increase and decrease daylight hours and also cage temperatures to align with the seasonal changes. If your choices are limited to in cage/direct lighting, I would recommend providing hides or constructing something with the decor that will make the light in the cage less direct.
I use LED strips and set them on the low setting. The boa and royal use their hides frequently although I do catch them out more often starting around this time of year. The carpet python rarely uses a hide and the reticulated python does use a hide however he is more active and will perch mid day or sprawl out. I would really like to see the cages get true sunlight but that option isn't available here.
You can see in this photo that the hides block out the majority of the direct light. I have the lights set a bit further back to illuminate the rock backgrounds yet it leaves the front of the cage fairly dark and there is very little light in the hides. The boa is a bout 7' long and easily fits in the hides. I put in a different light in the top cage since this photo was taken. It is adjusted to be more dim. These lights also appear brighter than they are. They are slightly overexposed due to the fact the picture was taken in complete darkness.
In the evenings, I provide a few hours of LED moonlight. As I understand it, this type of light doesn't bother a snake but I could be wrong. I do catch them all out when I have the blue lights on, even the royal makes a showing. At the end of the day the cages are totally blacked out for night time.
At the end of the day, a real light cycle, with real sunlight is the way to go.
Reply With Quote