# Black Lights



## evin (Sep 16, 2008)

i dont know if anyone uses or thinks of using black lights for a heat lamp but i have heard from some people say that it is irritating or even harmful to tortoises and turtles eyes and i hear from other peiople that it is a good cheap way to warm an enclosure throughout the day and night does anyone have any input on this subject?


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## terryo (Sep 16, 2008)

I use a heat emitter, which is on 24/7. I don't know if the black light is good or bad for the tort, but I just don't like any lights on at night. I think the heat emitter lasts longer too.


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## Yvonne G (Sep 16, 2008)

I use black lights, and have for about 10 years. I don't know if it has harmed their eyes, but no one is acting any different than usual. To tell the truth, your post is the first time I've ever heard it might be detrimental to their health. I'll have to do some research. thanks for the "heads-up"!!!

Yvonne


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## RTfanatic (Sep 16, 2008)

FYI, RT's and Leopard's glow dimly under black light.


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## evin (Sep 16, 2008)

i use them too and have had no ill effect but when i said i did on another forum they told me it was bad


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## Ladyrags (Sep 17, 2008)

Go to the website below and read about the lighting, very interesting. You should never believe one persons advice on things, always do research. I was taught that almost 30 years ago, so I do alot of reasearch.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/lighting.html


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## Yvonne G (Sep 17, 2008)

Ladyrags said:


> Go to the website below and read about the lighting, very interesting. You should never believe one persons advice on things, always do research. I was taught that almost 30 years ago, so I do alot of reasearch.
> 
> http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/lighting.html



Darlene: Mr. Highfield is talking about using the blacklight for photosynthesis. We are talking here about using it for heat. The type of black light bulb we the average consumer can buy does NOT emit the UV-c he's talking about. Its a harmless bulb used to provide heat at night without light.

Yvonne

According to Wikipedia, the UV or tanning rays emitted by black light bulbs come from the flourescent bulbs. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_light Since these do not emit any heat, these are NOT the bulbs we are talking about here. We want the incandescent bulbs. 
The Consumer Product Safety's Wikipedia page has this to say about incandescent black light bulbs:

A black light may also be formed by simply using Wood's glass instead of clear glass as the envelope for a common incandescent bulb. This was the method used to create the very first black light sources. Though it remains a cheaper alternative to the fluorescent method, it is exceptionally inefficient at producing UV light, (less than 0.1 percent of the input power), owing to the black body nature of the incandescent light source. Incandescent UV bulbs, due to their inefficiency, may also become dangerously hot during use. Often the filament is "overburned", and run at a higher temperature to increase the proportion of U.V.A in the black-body emission, this drastically reduces the life of the lamp from a typical 1000 hours to around 100 hours.

Yvonne


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