UVB For Reptiles Explained
If you’ve been on the reptile side of social media for long enough, or even seen some of my posts, you’ll know how important UVB is for reptiles. Over the past couple of years, the hobby has begun to realize that UVB lighting is not just a good thing to add into your reptile’s husbandry, but a requirement.
The Animal Welfare Act of 2006 states that keepers are responsible for ensuring the welfare of their animals in accordance to the five animal needs. One of those being the need to exhibit natural behaviors and a need for a proper environment. Providing what each reptile would likely experience in the wild is a clear example of replicating their natural environment, which is what we should all strive to do.
UVB can be so incredibly confusing to both experienced and new keepers. So here, I’m going to explain the purpose of UVB lighting, slightly more scientific-y research on it, and more so that more people are able to understand the importance.
What exactly is UVB?
Amazing question, I’m so glad you asked. UVB is basically artificial sunlight when it is in bulb form, like we’ll be discussing here. It is composed of infrared, visible light, and ultraviolet wavelengths of light, just as the real sun outside is. UVB stands for “ultraviolet B” and is found naturally on Earth. In humans, prolonged exposure can be linked to sun burns, cancer, and other skin issues; but reptiles have scales that protect them from any of those effects.
Why does my reptile need UVB?
So, as you know: your reptile lives in captivity. Your reptile does not have regular access to the sun, therefore they are not getting the Vitamin D from the sun. So we as responsible reptile keepers, must supplement that for them. When you supply your reptile with UVB light inside the enclosure, the light is able to start the process called The D3 Cycle. Vitamin D is absolutely crucial to a reptile’s bone health, sight, and even mental health (yes, reptiles can become stressed and experience symptoms of a unhealthy life because of this). Exposure to sunlight or in this case, UVB, starts the process of producing vitamin D3. I highly recommend checking out Arcadia Reptile’s explanation on this if you’d like to know the amazing scientific process: https://secure.toolkitfiles.co.uk/clients/31590/sitedata/Other/D3-Dycle-Arcadia.pdf
In captive reptiles specifically, metabolic bone disease or MBD as it is commonly referred as, is a result of inadequate UVB lighting. It can also be caused by poor nutrition or kidney disease, but since this post is covering UVB I won’t get into that too deeply. Vitamin D3 also regulates calcium absorption, therefore with not enough UVB being provided to the reptile, they usually end up with low calcium as well.
Dr. Miranda Sadar, a former faculty member at the Wester College of Veterinary Medicine notes, “If there’s not enough calcium in the bones, the bones are not as strong as they should be … sometimes the muscles can actually be stronger than the bones — depending on how much calcium is missing,” which is why often you see reptiles still being able to drag themselves around when their bones are not strong enough to walk on anymore.
ALL reptiles can be affected by MBD, therefore it should be offered to ALL types of reptiles.
Can I supplement UVB with Vitamin D3 supplements?
Technically, yes. I personally do not believe that it is something that should be done due to the other benefits that UVB brings: increased appetite, mood, and activity. Nocturnal reptiles can do okay with a calcium supplement with D3, but there are still noticeable differences when UVB is provided. Josh’s Frogs also says, “Day geckos, which are diurnal, can survive without UVB but appear to grow slower and to be less healthy and less colorful than those provided with UVB. Finally, other diurnal lizards, like bearded dragons and chameleons, absolutely require UVB lest they suffer serious health issues.“
Some examples of species that absolutely NEED UVB lighting are as follows:
Bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps), Sulcata Tortoises (Centrochelys sulcata), Greek Tortoise (Testudo graeca), Red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans), Collard lizards (Crotaphytus spp.), Panther Chameleons (Furcifer pardalis), Veiled Chameleons (Chamaeleo calyptratus), Anoles (Anolis spp.), Uromastyx (Uromastyx spp.), Blue Tongue Skinks (Tiliqua spp.), Monitor Lizards (Varanus spp.), and Tegus (Tupinambis spp.).
Additionally, using only dietary D3 supplements would have to be kept track of very closely, since too much can potentially damage their kidneys… which also results in MBD. Doubling up on vitamin D supplements that the reptile does not need can also cause kidney damage.
As noted previously, reptiles in the wild synthesize their own vitamin D3 from the sun. Vitamin D3 through UVB in captivity allows them to use their natural processes in creating vitamin D3 for themselves and you do not need any D3 supplements. Additionally, diurnal (awake during the day, like you and I!) reptiles such as bearded dragons, are not able to use D3 supplements effectively and need UVB in order to avoid the issues discussed earlier.
To sum that up, I strongly believe that a certain type of UVB should be provided to all reptiles regardless of whether they are diurnal or nocturnal. Even nocturnal reptiles in the wild see the sun sometimes. It has been shown that even the reptiles that people claim “don’t need UVB” benefit from it in some form and I am firm in the point that if it benefits our reptiles, they should have it. Surviving isn’t thriving.
Nocturnal reptiles can be provided with a low-intensity bulb such as the ShadeDweller line Arcadia has and they’ll do amazing. I personally provide my crested gecko (crepuscular) with a ShadeDweller 7% on top of the screen for about six hours during the day time. This option is also perfect for leopard geckos, day geckos, amphibians, inverts, and young snakes.
Quick guide on types of UVB lights
I won’t be able to go into detail of what specific UVB percentage that your specific reptile needs due to the varied amounts for each, but I can explain the differences between some you may see in local pet stores or online.
T8 Lighting
This is an example of linear tube lighting that would be a great addition to nocturnal/crepuscular species due to the limit on its reach. Usually these lamps will only allow for 6-12 inches away from your reptile before it isn’t as effective as it should be. These are the type of UVB lights that you always want to mount on the inside of your enclosure due to this.
T5 Lighting
This type of linear tube lighting has a farther range at 18-24 inches, which is perfect any reptiles in larger enclosures. This is the type of light you’d need for any diurnal species as well since they are usually brighter, last longer (12 months in comparison to T8’s 6 months), and have a much longer range. T5 lights can be mounted on top of the screen of an enclosure due to this.
Compact/coil UVB bulbs
These type of UVB bulbs are basically only effective in enclosures about 12-18″ tall and for species that do not need a large output of UVB. I do not recommend using these for any diurnal species since they will not be able to put off enough UVB to keep the reptile healthy.
I recommend grabbing a UVB light of your choice from either Zoo Med or Arcadia, as their lights have been proven to last much longer, do not put off UVC radiation, and have a consistent output of UVB.
Conclusion
As stated before, I am a strong believer in making sure that reptiles are provided as close to what they would have in the wild (without the dangers). UVB is a significant part of that, and a huge part of keeping our captive reptiles healthy and living a long time. You want them around for a while, don’t you? I know I do.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and discover what your reptile may need to have added in their enclosure. If you have specific questions about UVB that I did not cover here or would like to have me add later on, please don’t hesitate to message me on Instagram: @kams.reptiles anytime. Thank you for being here.
References
D3 cycle in Reptiles explained. Arcadia Reptile. (2019, January 25). Retrieved October 31, 2022, from https://www.arcadiareptile.com/d3-cycle/
Frogs, J. (2020, August 22). What’s the deal with D3? Josh’s Frogs How-To Guides. Retrieved October 31, 2022, from https://www.joshsfrogs.com/catalog/blog/2018/09/whats-the-deal-with-d3/
Roy, G. (2019, September 5). Understanding metabolic bone disease in reptiles – WCVM today – Western College of Veterinary Medicine. WCVM Today. Retrieved October 31, 2022, from https://wcvmtoday.usask.ca/articles/2019/09/Understanding-metabolic-bone-disease-in-reptiles.php
