Inqueries about herps and LED lights

[ozzymandias]

Hello all.

I've heard in the past that LED lights can have negative effects on herps because of the wavelengths of light they emit. I keep my bearded dragon in a tank in my room. Recently, I installed a grow lamp nearby for the plants I keep. If it's having an effect on my lizard I haven't noticed but I'm also not there to watch all day. I've not noticed any glass surfing or similar behavior. Just wanted to ask if anyone had input. Is it a bad idea to have a grow lamp in the same area as my bearded dragon?

 

[SpookySpooder]

Depending on the spectrum, it might mess with their vision but other than that a normal photo period shouldn't be bad for it.

Can you elaborate on what you heard and how light waves can be bad for herps?

 

[ozzymandias]

Can you elaborate on what you heard and how light waves can be bad for herps?

You know, now that I think about it, what I had heard was in reference to LED strip lights. You know, the sort that’s fashionable to hang around a room? I had heard that using unnatural colors or strobe functions could induce stress in reptiles.

Obviously strobing isn’t an issue with a grow light, but I thought I’d get some advice on it all the same.

 

[SpookySpooder]

You know, now that I think about it, what I had heard was in reference to LED strip lights. You know, the sort that’s fashionable to hang around a room? I had heard that using unnatural colors or strobe functions could induce stress in reptiles.

Obviously strobing isn’t an issue with a grow light, but I thought I’d get some advice on it all the same.

Well there might be some credit to what you've heard. So the way that LEDs work is a diode is filled with electricity and that produces a flash of light. Certain cheaper LED companies will produce a product that emits what is basically a rapid series of light blips. This is unpercievable to the human eye and so it looks like one long wave of light to us, but if you hold a camera up to it you'll see waves and lines coming out of the light, and I imagine animals with different eyes will see that differently as well.

We do know certain colors and timing/duration of photo periods affects different lifeforms in different ways so this could potentially be disruptive, but I'm not basing that on any science I've read or done.

 

[viper69]

Hello all.

I've heard in the past that LED lights can have negative effects on herps because of the wavelengths of light they emit. I keep my bearded dragon in a tank in my room. Recently, I installed a grow lamp nearby for the plants I keep. If it's having an effect on my lizard I haven't noticed but I'm also not there to watch all day. I've not noticed any glass surfing or similar behavior. Just wanted to ask if anyone had input. Is it a bad idea to have a grow lamp in the same area as my bearded dragon?

LED wavelengths emit light- what wavelengths of light and what species?

Generally speaking the source of white light doesn’t matter, meaning wavelengths are just that.

How the light is produced may matter in my limited opinion.

 

[SpookySpooder]

Generally speaking a well made LED for growing will put out a lot more red and blue light, they also have 'true' white diodes with a broad spectrum of greens, oranges, yellows, and purples.

Cheap LEDS will tweak the wavelength of a soft white LED to make it APPEAR these other colors. Plants grown under these LEDS don't develop as robustly as plants under a broad spectrum wavelength.

No clue how this would affect T's. But it matters for plants which are reliant on the full spectrum of light.

 

[viper69]

Generally speaking a well made LED for growing will put out a lot more red and blue light, they also have 'true' white diodes with a broad spectrum of greens, oranges, yellows, and purples.

Cheap LEDS will tweak the wavelength of a soft white LED to make it APPEAR these other colors. Plants grown under these LEDS don't develop as robustly as plants under a broad spectrum wavelength.

No clue how this would affect T's. But it matters for plants which are reliant on the full spectrum of light.

I knew a guy many years ago who owned a LED business as a distributor who also owned herps.

He basically said what you did. He also told at the time there were no standards in the LED industry for what makes up white light- that’s when I decided to wait for LEDs to mature for the reptile world

 

[SpookySpooder]

They're good now so no need to worry anymore. Just avoid knockoff chinese goods for the most part. Fluval, Seachem, Aquasky, ADA, Chihiro are a few good companies that come to mind.

All things equal (housing, brackets, heat sink, controllers, etc.) Good LED systems are more expensive because a quality diode is easily 3-5x as expensive as a cheap diode.

 

[ozzymandias]

Thank you all for the thoughtful comments! Definitely gave me some good information.

They're good now so no need to worry anymore. Just avoid knockoff chinese goods for the most part. Fluval, Seachem, Aquasky, ADA, Chihiro are a few good companies that come to mind.

I'll have to check out those brands. I'm interested in setting up a paludarium with live plants and animals, so I'm going to need a light source that all the inhabitants can agree on.

 

[The Snark]

So the way that LEDs work is a diode is filled with electricity and that produces a flash of light. Certain cheaper LED companies will produce a product that emits what is basically a rapid series of light blips.

LEDs must have the current limited. The commonest and most efficient way of doing this is turning them off and on very rapidly usually up above 40,000 times per second or so. IE, strobed. An ideal job for the average transistor used in switching mode.