If you've been following The Drawing Zoo on our Instagram or Facebook, you've probably notice that we house many of our animals outside in the summer. Or you may be familiar with the image of lizards, snakes or turtles basking on a rock in the sun. For diurnal animals, (animals that are awake in the day), the rays from the sun don't only keep them warm, but are necessary for them to digest their food and absorb the Vitamin D which allows them to digest their food, and specifically absorb calcium. When we keep animals out of their natural environment, it our responsibility to mimic the elements as best we can. This includes UVB rays.
This is the time of year we've moved the animals inside because the temperature is not warm enough for the animals to keep healthy. "Then how do they get their UVB rays?" you may ask. We buy ZooMed UVB spectrum bulbs! Although they can't replace the sun, these bulbs supplement the animals' UVB needs during the colder months. In fact, I just changed all our bulbs this week. Buyer beware- even if the light still works, these bulbs fail to emit the necessary rays for more than 6-12 months. Since our animals spend half their time in the sun (and therefore, not using the bulbs) I feel comfortable changing my bulbs every Fall.
The concequences of failing to provide proper lighting are very grim. The most common result is Metobolic Bone Disease. A lizard with MBD can have a malformed jaw, legs, a kink in their spine. While turtles and tortoises will grow deformed shells and beaks.
Please note, that keeping animals like ours is an ever developing art. As veterinarians and zoologists learn more about these animals, and captive methods evolve, it is also my responsibility to keep up. This information I'm sharing right now will likely be improved upon in the near future!
-Brittany Roger
Sources: http://greenigsociety.org/heatlighthumidity.htm
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