lighting suggestions?

Sharlynn93 · 02-24-14, 08:19 AM

we would love to add some full spectrum lighting to our boa master enclosures (not to leave on full time of course, but for viewing and making it easier to see when cleaning, etc)...does anyone have any suggestions or warnings of products to avoid for high humidity enclosures (these are for rainbow boas)?

Kid Boa · 02-24-14, 08:55 AM

They only real way to get "Full Spectrum" light is by using High pleasure Sodium lamp which is nearly impossible to set up for a snake enclosure due too the intense heat it puts out.

You can get fluorescent lamps that put out a "Close too" full spectrum light such as the Philips TL "True Light" lamps. These can be mounted in a vapor tight fixture.

I'm sure your aware that snake have no light requirements other than needing a day and night cycle.

I would suggest a LED strip of about 4100 kelvin. These are readily available now, easy to mount and getting cheaper by the day.

Sharlynn93 · 02-24-14, 09:07 AM

that's what hubby was thinking...an LED strip...just something to show off the rainbows if someone wants to see them, and to give us light while doing maintenance..although I do plan on doing bioactive in the near future...they both HATE light, lol...they retreat whenever I turn lights on in the room, Iris has a fluorescent fixture now on her aquarium, but I keep it off unless I need to search for messes, etc...but we do have a lot of people wanting to come see our collection (most of them people who are afraid of them but LOVE the pics I post on facebook and want to start to work on their fears, so that's pretty thrilling to me, and I want to make their experience worthwhile)...so I want the option of some lighting when we want it...we were offered (from boa masters) the display he had (2 enclosures, with stand and lighting) for a discount, but they were pretty beat up from multiple disassemblies and reassemblies, so we opted for just the 2 new enclosures, and are looking for our own lighting source...I didn't want to compromise quality on the enclosures just to get a deal....

Kid Boa · 02-24-14, 09:14 AM

Here is a good example.

USD $ 8.99 - Waterproof 3.5W/M 3528 SMD White Light LED Strip Lamp (220V, Length Selectable), Free Shipping On All Gadgets!

Sharlynn93 · 02-24-14, 09:17 AM

awesome! thanks! saved the page to show my hubby tonight when he gets home from work..looks like an even better alternative to what would have been included in the pkg deal! no bulbs to replace...

jarich · 02-24-14, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kid Boa

They only real way to get "Full Spectrum" light is by using High pleasure Sodium lamp which is nearly impossible to set up for a snake enclosure due too the intense heat it puts out.

You can get fluorescent lamps that put out a "Close too" full spectrum light such as the Philips TL "True Light" lamps. These can be mounted in a vapor tight fixture.

I'm sure your aware that snake have no light requirements other than needing a day and night cycle.

I would suggest a LED strip of about 4100 kelvin. These are readily available now, easy to mount and getting cheaper by the day.

I would disagree with most of what you said there actually. 'Full spectrum' really doesnt have much meaning except as a marketing term, but Im guessing you were meaning a light that emits both visible light and UV light. There are very good fluorescent lights now, called High Output (HO) T5 lights by Zoomed and Arcadia, which give off a great spectrum, including a lot of UVB light. They arent great for UVA, but do give off some.

As for HPS lights, I cant really think of any that give off a natural spectrum due to the protective glass they all come with standard. Because they also produce UVC, any unshielded lamps would be extremely harmful. There are other types of HID lamps that are designed specifically for their UVA/B qualities though and so are great if you have the space for them. Like KidBoa said, they give off a lot of heat usually though too, so arent great for most snake enclosures. There is a very good one out now by ExoTerra (shockingly enough) that is only a 50 watt though. Ive not got one yet, so am not aware of how much extra heat they actually produce with that 50 watts.

As for the lighting requirements for snakes, I wouldnt be so sure of that either. Snakes see UVA2 wavelengths, and all testing that I have seen for various species shows that their health is improved by UVB exposure. I think its going to be a thing of the past in 20 years, this idea that snakes dont make use of extra lighting.

formica · 02-24-14, 09:46 AM

+1 for LED strip lights

however I would suggest 6000K or higher, not 4100K. 6000K and above is a nice clean white light, lower (color temps) are more yellow and imo do not bring out the best colors inside the enclosure

you wont get UVB with LED's, although you can get UVA, but I dont think there is much point

Sharlynn93 · 02-24-14, 09:48 AM

i don't want anything that produces heat...my RHP's will take care of that...if for some reason the light were to be left on accidentally (can happen to anyone, i'm guessing) I don't want it to get to warm in there...just want something that will highlight their rainbows when we want to "show" them to someone, especially if that person were to be more comfortable with them NOT out of their enclosure, (easing people into working through phobias) and also provide light for cleaning or maintenance when we need it...

formica · 02-24-14, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharlynn93

i don't want anything that produces heat...my RHP's will take care of that...if for some reason the light were to be left on accidentally (can happen to anyone, i'm guessing) I don't want it to get to warm in there...just want something that will highlight their rainbows when we want to "show" them to someone, especially if that person were to be more comfortable with them NOT out of their enclosure, (easing people into working through phobias) and also provide light for cleaning or maintenance when we need it...

6000K LED's fit the bill nicely, my CRB's rainbows come out beautifully under those, especially in the evenings. she really isnt bothered by the light either, in total she has 1W of 6000K, and is just as happy hunting when they are on as when they are switched over to red or off

Sharlynn93 · 02-24-14, 10:02 AM

great info! thanks so much!!

Kid Boa · 02-24-14, 10:08 AM

You are correct Jaricj my apologies. When most people speak of "Full spectrum Lamps" (a coined phrase) they are speaking of grow lamps and I assumed this is what she was asking for.

My bad.

I would still stick to the 4100-5500K lamps. Once you hit the 6000k mark lamps start putting out a blue color. 4100-5500 will be your best white colors. But this is just our opinions. See chart below.

chart.jpg

Sharlynn93 · 02-24-14, 10:18 AM

awesome! thanks! hubby is an electrician, so he knows more about the technical terms than I do, but I figured I would do some legwork and ask for suggestions to get him pointed in the right direction! (he has been out of the field for a few years, so new developments may have escaped him...maybe...we don't talk shop much at home, he has been speculating since Saturday on options, so thought I would get opinions)..

formica · 02-24-14, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kid Boa

You are correct Jaricj my apologies. When most people speak of "Full spectrum Lamps" (a coined phrase) they are speaking of grow lamps and I assumed this is what she was asking for.

My bad.

I would still stick to the 4100-5500K lamps. Once you hit the 6000k mark lamps start putting out a blue color. 4100-5500 will be your best white colors. But this is just our opinions. See chart below.

Attachment 27933

6000K is not blue at all, yes it has more blue than a 4000K, but that the point, the problem is not that 6000K has too much blue, but that 4000K doesnt have enough, and so produces that terrible dull yellow lighting - which does nothing for iridescence - thats why I switched to 6000K as standard in all the enclosures I build, because it looks fantastic

Kid Boa · 02-24-14, 10:34 AM

I'm not here to upset anyone Formica, just to give the girl some info. I PERSONLAY find that 6000K+ adds too much of a blue hue and changes the natural color of the orange and reds.

I choose to run mine at 5000K. I find this is a neutral color and accents everything. again, this is my opinion.

dbank999 · 02-24-14, 10:49 AM

If you go with SMD LED strips, get an RGB set-up with a module and receiver to change the color via remote.

Too bright? Adjust the brightness levels.
Too white? Adjust the levels.
Too blue? Adjust the levels.
Want some red for night viewing? Put red levels at max, green and blue at 0.
Disco for your Boa? Turn on jumping strobe, etc..

You can find full kits for about 20 bucks (remote, 5meter LED strip, hook-ups, module and receiver).

My advice, save yourself the hassle and go with waterproof. They are fully sealed and have an easy to use 3M mounting back surface, and are "cut to length" (literally just cut on the marked line at the length you want, that's it, no soldering or anything else). No extra housing required.