Zoo Med NatureSun® - Manual (Page 7)

they must not need it. But this logic completely
ignores the fact that many of these reptiles are
exposed to UVB in their natural habitat, and new
research shows that they do indeed benefi t from
UVB exposure.
Some species have been kept with
apparent success without access to
UVB, including nocturnal lizards;
reptiles, such as snakes and
varanids, that eat whole
vertebrate prey; and
amphibians. If we were to
take a different approach
and choose their
lighting based on their
interaction with light
in nature, however, we
would provide most of
these species with UVB.
Many of the species
that are classifi ed as
“nocturnal” are also
crepuscular (active at
dawn and/or dusk), and
crepuscular behavior
patterns often result in
exposure to low levels of
sunlight and UVB.
UVB for Nocturnal Species
Herpetologists have often
come across nocturnal species at dusk
when low levels of UVB are present. In “Diurnal
Activities of a Nocturnal Animal,” a 1952 article
published in the journal Herpetologica, noted
herpetologist Bayard Brattstrom makes the
following remarkable statement:
“The increasing mass of evidence regarding the
function of the pituitary gland of animals in relation
to solar radiation and sexual and other associated
cycles, and the known importance of vitamin D
and other physiological factors associated with
absorption of solar radiation, would seem to make
desirable the report of instances of diurnal activity
observed in supposedly nocturnal animals. This
is especially true for the species of terrestrial
animals that habitually live underground during
daylight hours, and which by means of protrusion
of the head alone could presumably receive
Courtesy Kirby Spencer /Zoo Med Laboratories
These juvenile
curly tailed lizards
were bred at Zoo Med and
are housed in a terrarium
with a mercury vapor UVB
lamp, which provides heat,
light, UVA and
UVB from one source.
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