Is sun still required even with uvb lamp?

[Desai]

Howzit guys

My basilisks are provided with a UVb 5.0 (they are able to be close to it) and I use a calcium supplement on their food (crickets, mealworms and pinkies). Do I still need to expose them to sunlight? Is it still possible for them to get MBD? If so I would like to purchase the exo-terra explorarium or the all mesh enclosure for chameleons. Any idea if they would rip it to shreds as I am not sure what it is made of but I think it is nylon

Your help will be greatly appreciated

[Dragon Breeder]

in my own personal opinion that is fine for them i do not give my cwd oftyen natural sunlight and they are fine with that set up

however when that bulb runs out i would bump up to a repti glo 8.0 or 10.0 if available just to be sure

Erik

[vierfleck]

Hello,

i dont work with basilisks,but i think its always better to give them real sunlight,because the bulbs only give a small bandwidth of light.I always try to give my Phelsumas real sunlight,and they love it.

Please excuse my bad english.

regards

Matthias

[Dragon Breeder]

Hello,

i dont work with basilisks,but i think its always better to give them real sunlight,because the bulbs only give a small bandwidth of light.I always try to give my Phelsumas real sunlight,and they love it.

Please excuse my bad english.

regards

Matthias

im Scottish and your english is probably better than mine because we are tought all the slang as you are not

although slang mto you is snake to us its shortened abbreviations to mean the same word
(if you didnt know but you probably did)

the thing is as the bulbs provide the adequit uv i dont see the point in sunlight but it is all up to the person who owns the reptile
Erik

[Bushviper]

Desai you live in the land of sunshine why not use it. I have many lizards which get enough UV light but a few hours of sunlight in the morning or late afternoon really gets them more excited.

You can build them a nice plastic cage with a mesh lid and put this halfway under a shady tree. That way they wont run into the sides or scratch their faces the way basilisks love to do, but they get direct sunlight from above.

Just watch the temperatures because the cage can over heat and cook them rather quickly without supervision.

[Desai]

Thanks for suggestions guys. I actually just bought an exo-terra flexarium for them to bask in but just need to put an infra-red bulb and some more branches for them to climb. Cant wait to see them in their new habitat

[flapjackjoe]

Hi there,

I don't know what the requirements for these dudes are, but the bulb mentioned only provides about 5% of UVB exposure.

UVB rays are necessary so that your animal can produce enough emounts of Vit D

Vitamin D regulates the calcium and phosphorus levels in the blood by promoting their absorption from food, and by promoting re-absorption of calcium.
It promotes bone formation and mineralization and is essential in the development of an intact and strong bone system.

Try and find out how much exposure your animals require....
Cheers

[froot]

That raises a question in my mind. You buy calcium with vitamin D3 suppliment. I know sunlight is always best, but if you feed your animals this product, do they still need sunshine?

[flapjackjoe]

My reason for not liking supplements.....

As you stated the calcium comes with added VitD3.
What about D2?

Vit D gets stored in the liver for a couple of days. When exposed to UVB rays the body will start using the VitD.

If the reptile is not exposed to enough UVB and you keep on supplementing D3 to the animal it could end up in toxicity.

I believe a well balanced diet with enough exposure to UVB (be it from the sun or simulated) will be more than sufficient.

NO, I would rather have my lizard in the sun, than believing that supplements would be a substitute for sun light.

[Desai]

I actually have now put two UVb5 tubes in their cage just to make sure the levels would be ok. They seem to be doing fine and eat well, although never in front of me I think the best thing would be to keep them outdoors in summer and indoors in winter (cos of cold and low humidity)