Infared lightning

[Drago the red]

Hi!

So I keep seeing people say don't use red light in enclosures because it messes with circadian rhythm. I don't see how, if I use white light in the day time and switch to red in the night. I know red light doesn't mess with human circadian rhythm because we use it this exact way at my work. Am I wrong to assume it works the same way for red foot tortoises and tortoises in general? Thanks!

 

[Tom]

Am I wrong to assume it works the same way for red foot tortoises and tortoises in general? Thanks!

Yes. You are wrong to assume that. Tortoises see color better than we do. Their eyes are more developed for it. Colored bulbs mess with their heads and should not be used. There are no colored bulbs in nature where they evolved. Its dark at night, every night.

And I don't know why you think they have no effect on humans. They most certainly do. I don't know in what capacity you are using them at work, but living in an all red world for 12 hours a day every day, would not be good for a human either. That would be torture. It would never be dark and everything all around you would be red. No thank you.

Also, incandescent bulbs are unreliable and burn out frequently. I'm constantly replacing them. This being the case, they are a much less relivable heat source for a tortoise that needs night warmth. If the bulb burns out right after you go to bed, your tortoise will spend the whole night in the cold. CHEs or RHPs are far less likely to burn out or have a problem. I have one CHE the has been in continuous use since 1991.

And one more reason to avoid them: Incandescent bulbs produce high levels of IR-A which is extremely desiccating to a growing tortoise carapace. They contribute to pyramiding. We need some sort of "artificial sun" for day time, but CHEs and RHPs, are less desiccating for night heat.