Light hours

[Dblockerrr]

Hi all,

Newbie here. I purchased my yearling tegu, Gator, last month at a reptile expo. He is awesome.

My question is about turning his lighting off at night. I purchased him a combination light (uva/uvb) for his basking area. I also have a red light for heat if need be, but I haven't needed it as the combo light keeps the sides at the right temps.
Should I be turning his combo light off for nighttime, then turn the red bulb on to keep the heat up while that is off?

Thanks!

Dani

 

[Skeep]

The general rule is to have 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. It is better to have a ceramic heat bulb that doesn't give off any light than a red light bulb for night, but I wouldn't rush out to replace it. Whether or not it should be on depends on the cage temperatures. I find room temperature (around 20 degrees) at night is what my tegu prefers.

 

[Skeep]

Also I'd suggest looking through the forums here to get some good ideas on care and such. The enclosures forum should have lots of information about lighting options etc. And good luck with your new friend!

 

[dpjm]

I would not use any nighttime heat, unless the enclosure is in a very cool room.

Most uvb bulbs do not put out enough heat for a basking area, what temperature are you getting and what is the distance from the bulb to the surface?