fluorescent lighting
- Thread starter black_ops
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2003
- Messages
- 806
Because scorpions are nocturnal animals. If you have a flourescent light as the only heat source then they will have no heating at night, and if you do keep it on at night they won't come out to hunt. If they do come out they can get extremely stressed out because of the light and over time they can die. You can have a flourescent on during the day and a infrared or night time buld on at night, or just do what I do and have an infrared all day and night.
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2003
- Messages
- 806
UV is definitly bad, I think I may have messed up a bit there. It won't stress them out as much and isn't as harmful but they do not like light period. They cannot see red so infrared lights are good for heat. They hate any type of light and many will stay under objects/ground until it is dark. It is good for a daytime light, but that is all. Just go with the infrared lights.
It's a reptisun 2.5 that was made for emmiting uvb and uva, and I have been using it for an additional heat source during the day for the last few days, and I am just concerned that the uv might hurt the scorpions, although the bulb is a few years old.
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2003
- Messages
- 806
I wasn't saying all flourescents did emit UV, fact of the matter is that scorpions are nocturnal and will not go out (usually) if there is any bright light, UV or not.
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2002
- Messages
- 2,363
Actually ALL fluorescents produce invisible UV...that is how they make their visible light...the emit UV and the phosphors coating the insides of the tubes 'fluoresce' and re-emit light in the visible wavelengths which we see.
The blacklights we use to make our scorpions glow(fluoresce) do not have the phosphors coating the tube and therefore produce very little visible light. The visible light we do see is partly from the glass itself fluorescing and a very small amount of visible light(the process isn't perfect)
The UV light emitted from a Blacklight tube can cause the scorpions to loose their ability if used for a prolonged amount of time. Long term exposure may cause damage to your scorpions eyes...though it is not know how long or if it can occur in all species.
The type of UV bulbs used for mining or sterilizing surfaces should NOT be used on scorpions...they will injure your inverts and can injure you as well.
I would not use a UV or floursecent lamp for heating as they give out little. I use white fluorescents to provide a day/night cycle for my scorpions...this is not necessary but I feel it allows them to behave in a more natural fasion as they experience a day/night cycle in the wild.
What I do use to heat my bug closet and certain enclosures that require more heat than the indirect heating can provide in nothing more than a basic reflector lamp that cna be purchased ant any hardware store or home improvement warehouse for around $5USD. I use nothing more than ordinary lightbulbs of various wattages to achieve the required temperatures. All my lamps are on a timer that runs from about 6am to 10pm every day. They are not running at night. My Bug closet does not get below 63-65F even on the coldest days. There is nothing wrong with letting it cool off a few degrees at night...it does this in the wild. This method of heating/lighting is very efficient and economical adn give me alot of control...for the price of just one ceramic heat coil or a medium sized heat pad I light and heat my entire closet.
I hope this clears up any questions or concerns.
John
];')
The blacklights we use to make our scorpions glow(fluoresce) do not have the phosphors coating the tube and therefore produce very little visible light. The visible light we do see is partly from the glass itself fluorescing and a very small amount of visible light(the process isn't perfect)
The UV light emitted from a Blacklight tube can cause the scorpions to loose their ability if used for a prolonged amount of time. Long term exposure may cause damage to your scorpions eyes...though it is not know how long or if it can occur in all species.
The type of UV bulbs used for mining or sterilizing surfaces should NOT be used on scorpions...they will injure your inverts and can injure you as well.
I would not use a UV or floursecent lamp for heating as they give out little. I use white fluorescents to provide a day/night cycle for my scorpions...this is not necessary but I feel it allows them to behave in a more natural fasion as they experience a day/night cycle in the wild.
What I do use to heat my bug closet and certain enclosures that require more heat than the indirect heating can provide in nothing more than a basic reflector lamp that cna be purchased ant any hardware store or home improvement warehouse for around $5USD. I use nothing more than ordinary lightbulbs of various wattages to achieve the required temperatures. All my lamps are on a timer that runs from about 6am to 10pm every day. They are not running at night. My Bug closet does not get below 63-65F even on the coldest days. There is nothing wrong with letting it cool off a few degrees at night...it does this in the wild. This method of heating/lighting is very efficient and economical adn give me alot of control...for the price of just one ceramic heat coil or a medium sized heat pad I light and heat my entire closet.
I hope this clears up any questions or concerns.
John
];')
Yeah, all fluorescent bulbs emit uv, because if they didn't, they wouldn't be fluorescent bulbs. When you keep reptiles, you need to use a flourescent bulb so the animal and absorb uvb and uva.
The uvb reacts with 7-dehydrocholesterol to create d3,which the reptiles need, and the uva stimulates color and reproduction. Every six months a fluorescent bulb needs to be replaced because it stops emmiting uv in large quantities, but as I just learned, with the scorpions, they don't need to be replaced.
The uvb reacts with 7-dehydrocholesterol to create d3,which the reptiles need, and the uva stimulates color and reproduction. Every six months a fluorescent bulb needs to be replaced because it stops emmiting uv in large quantities, but as I just learned, with the scorpions, they don't need to be replaced.
I know all about reptiles. 
Once they produce D3 herbivorous lizards use it to synthesize the calcium in their food. I meant that I didn't think the really cheap ones for fish tanks emitted much UV which they obviously dont or people would be using much cheaper bulbs for their herps, I thought only the full spectrum had a large amount of UV output.
Once they produce D3 herbivorous lizards use it to synthesize the calcium in their food. I meant that I didn't think the really cheap ones for fish tanks emitted much UV which they obviously dont or people would be using much cheaper bulbs for their herps, I thought only the full spectrum had a large amount of UV output.