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Post by chrisd on Sept 9, 2011 19:06:31 GMT
Hi,
Can anyone tell me the approximate daylight/ UV length requirements for lacerta's ? I know that when kept inside they need at least 12 hours+ but is it different when they are living naturally outside ? At the moment my lizards get about 12 hours but there must be people out there that have cages that receive less and more than this. What would the minimum be ?
chris
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Post by fluxlizard on Sept 10, 2011 1:01:09 GMT
UV from flourescent tubes is much less potent than real sunlight. Even shade outdoors has more UV than tubes indoors. 30-60 minutes 3 or 4 times a week can provide enough uv for lizards.
But there is also thermoregulatory demands that have to be met outdoors in addition to the UV. I think Bert Langerwerf felt that at least 6 hours of direct sunlight available to an outdoor enclosure is enough. I think more would certainly be more desirable.
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Post by viridis on Sept 13, 2011 9:32:48 GMT
It all depends on the species.Those from Northern Europe will have a much greater seasonal range than those from Southern Europe..The length of daylight is obviously dependant on the seasons and to be honest I would try to replicate our daylength in the U.K. if you are eventually going to release them in outdoor vivaria.
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Post by chrisd on Sept 13, 2011 19:31:04 GMT
Hi Flux lizatd and viridis (C),
Thanks for the advice, it was a general enquiry as I was wondering if my lizards, which are already outside, were getting enough UV. The weather hasn't been so good since the beginning of August and there has only been a few sunny days in which the cages have been uncovered (they are covered by glass in bad weather). I was wondering if they were getting enough UV and therefore will they be healthy enough before hibernation. They stopped eating weeks ago and most of them have disappeared already but some are still out and about. I was playing with the idea of trying to supply additional UV lighting for them to compensate for the times when the weather isn't so good.
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Post by viridis on Sept 14, 2011 7:06:58 GMT
In my opinion they will be fine for hibernation ,I think that the amount of ultraviolet it will have little effect on them if they are adult.Youngsters may be another story.
The problem that I had this year was with the adult females getting enough ultraviolet in the breeding season.I would guess that you might have this problem as well next spring.You could supply extra light wiyth ultraviolet tubes/bulbs but this would probably be costly.Otherwise take the glass off the top of the enclosure or use utraviolet emitting glass.Most of my enclosures have half mesh and half glass tops.In the spring I need to make them fully mesh. In my opinion the adults emerged from hibernation and stayed under the glass because it was warmer and therefore didn`t get enough ultraviolet light.
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Post by chrisd on Sept 14, 2011 20:26:52 GMT
I tilt my glass, opening the cages up unless the weather is very cold and windy, the cages are full mesh tops. The animals can stay at the back of the cage and be sheltered but still receive sunlight. The only problem with this is that the wind may be funnelled into the cage, but it seems to work well and I've had no problems. We were lucky with such a warm spring but usually, and this is when the problem occurs, the early season (right up into May !! ) can have a very cold wind. The same goes for the end of the season, as we have had a very windy, now cold August /September the lizards still come out using up their reserves, but not feeding and receiving little UV. I'm sure that they will be ok, but it would have been nice for them to fatten up before hibernation and lessen the worry !
I looked at the price of UV emitting perspex which would be ideal but it is very expensive. At the moment I am in the process of adding a frame to the top of my cages giving a "slope" effect which may improve matters.
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