The proper lighting of your terrarium is a very complex issue as the different animals have quite different requirements and there is no standard lighting suitable for all kinds of reptiles.
These days it is well known that UV light is important. However, this is only half the truth. People often concentrate on UV lighting and forget about the other ascpects of lighting, e.g. the light intensity. This is a mistake as the light intensity is as important if not even more important for the well-being of the animals than UV light.
In nature, animals enjoy a light intensity of 100.000 lux and more. In normal terrariums the light intensity is much lower and most terrariums will probably not even reach 10.000 lux, not enough to allow the animals to show their natural behaviour and nicest colours.
It is therefore important that you do not only concentrate on UV and heat lamps but also install a proper daylight lighting as basic lighting for all terrariums. The more light you offer to day active reptiles the better. That is why we have developed the Lucky Reptile Bright Sun which does not only provide UV and heat to the animals but also a lot of light. The difference can be seen right away!
Most of the time a combination of different lamps is necessary to achieve the best results. To help identifying the right lamps we have marked them accordingly: "Daylight", "UV lamp" and "Spot lamp". In the product description you will find for which animals and terrarium types/sizes the lamp is useful.
Fluorescent tubes are the perfect basic lighting as they distribute the light over a wide area. For snakes, amphibians and invertebrates normally one or two tubes are sufficient to simulate the day/night cycle. However, tubes are also a must-have for animals that need a high light intensity. Tubes will not be able to create bright basking areas but they light the shadowy parts left over by punctual spot lamps. For creating bright and warm sun spots not only the Bright Sun with its outstanding light output is suitable but also the Halogen Sun heat lamps with their outstandig heat performance.
