Every Reptile HEAT SOURCE Explained in 8 Minutes

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]The sun offers many things we want to mimic for our cold-blooded animals.

[00:00:04]>> Good morning.

[00:00:04]>> Ceramic heat emitters get placed on top of an enclosure. They're cheap, create no light, and can be used around the clock. They create longwave infrared heat in the form of IRC, but for many reptiles, we're after shorter wavelengths. IRB is absorbed into the skin and IRA penetrates deep into the muscle tissue. Ceramic heat emitters are good for drying up humidity and raising overall air temperature, but that's about it. Deep heat projectors offer 24/7 heat with no light as well. And unlike the previous option, they produce IRA, which is perfect for basking animals. Directly plugging these heating elements into a wall will often lead to them getting too hot, and so you will need a thermostat to prevent overheating, melted enclosures, or burnt animals. Most thermostats are like what's in your house. It clicks on, your house heats up, it clicks off. But deep heat projectors do best with dimmable thermostats that adjust how much energy is pushed through your heat source.

[00:01:02]Radiant heat panels get mounted inside the top of an enclosure. They're super safe when used properly and perfect for PVC enclosures without a risk of causing burns, but it's mostly IRC, so a bearded dragon who basks won't appreciate this the way a ball python might. They're also kind of big and won't work with every style of enclosure. Heat mats go on the outside of enclosures, usually below or sometimes on the side, but don't do well with PVC or wood, basically only glass or very thin plastic tubs. They're good for supplemental heat and certainly can work. They also only create infrared sea. And one concern is when many reptiles get too hot, their instincts tell them to dig to get away from the sun. But the sun being below them, that being your heat mat, means they're digging towards the heat source to try and [music] cool down. But if used on a glass enclosure with a thermostat and the enclosure has hiding areas with cooler temperatures, they work fine for animals that don't bask or climb too much. Heat tape is basically the same as heat mats, but it's ultra cheap in bulk and used for large rack setups. The widths and lengths are customizable to fit a wide variety of use cases, but are not intended for the average pet owner.

[00:02:12]Heat rocks don't need to be considered.

[00:02:15]And colored bulbs for a long time were thought to be similar to all of the sources I just named and that they're invisible to reptiles. But this is not the case for colored lights. They're just incandescent light bulbs with colored glass and especially not ideal for nighttime usage. So the majority of these heating elements work day and night. But there are even more and possibly better options available that do produce light, but for daytime use only. Dural reptiles are awake during the day, crepescular at dawn and dusk, and nocturnal at night. But even cave geckos who live in caves appreciate knowing what time it is outside. So for pretty much all reptiles during the day, let there be light and heat and at night make it dark and a bit cooler. Halogen flood lamps are packed with highintensity heat and light. They're full of IRA and the closest match to natural sunlight. Many light bulbs will explode when sprayed with water, but some H hallogen flood lamps are splashproof, making them even safer around reptiles. Flood means it covers a wider [music] area, unlike a spotlight, which directs his energy into one spot.

[00:03:23]These can also be turned down. Reduce the intensity with a dimming device instead of just turning them off and on.

[00:03:29]They're perfect for basking and lighting. Mercury vapor bulbs offer IRA, but they also offer ultraviolet radiation, including UVA and UVB. UVA is a type of light not visible to us because we are triromats. We see red, green, and blue. But most reptiles are tetra chromats. They have a fourth cone in their eyes. Without UVA, reptiles are partially colorblind. [music] Fruits and insects often have UVA reflective patterns and may be more appealing or noticeable to reptiles when visible. UVB has enough energy to trigger a chemical reaction in the skin. The sun offers vitamin D which lets both humans and reptiles absorb calcium. Without UVB or an artificial vitamin supplement, your reptile is kind of eating diet calcium.

[00:04:17]It just passes through them instead of absorbing, which is not a good thing.

[00:04:21]UVC literally tears apart DNA. Earth's ozone layer filters it out. Artificial versions are for sterilization and not relevant to pet care. So, mercury vapor bulbs, which offer IRA, UVA, and UVB, sound kind of perfect, but there's a few problems. They cannot be dimmed. And if you do have a thermostat to turn it off and on, this bulb has a cool down period. It takes up to 15 minutes to turn back on every time it's shut off.

[00:04:49]And even though UVB is important, this bulb only provides it to a very small area. If your reptile moves away from it, he won't absorb any of the UV rays.

[00:04:59]High-intensity discharge metal halli lamps. They create IRB, but also have a lot of IRA. They're ultra bright, high heat, create vivid light that make your reptile's colors kind of pop like a work of art, and [music] they have a flood light effect instead of a spotlight effect. But they can't just be screwed into regular domes. Incandescent light bulbs is what your house uses unless you have LEDs. Regular household versions have thin glass. They aren't spotlights or flood lights. They're just designed to shine throughout a whole room, which means they may overheat in domes. They burn out easily and might explode if misted with water. Reptile versions of incandescents provide IRA. They're dimmable and often much cheaper than alternative reptile lights. They're great for basking spots. They are kind of delicate and not as efficient, but I like them. One final note on bulbs is they offer the most benefits when used at maximum power. As an example, it's better to max out a 70W bulb instead of dimming a 100 W bulb to 70 W. Our final category is UVA and UVB. Specifically, coiled UV bulbs, they work, but they offer the benefits to a very small area.

[00:06:07]If your reptile moves just a few inches, he's not soaking up the good stuff.

[00:06:10]Tubes like the Zumemed T5 offer UVA and UVB and can cover a wide area while providing the perfect lighting for that simulated day and night cycle. They do emit heat but are not a heating source.

[00:06:24]T8 tubes are [music] like T5s, but you can just ignore them. They're not as modern or efficient, but they work. LED UVB lights like this Zumed one or this smaller and cheaper Higer one simply have regular LEDs in addition to UVB which can be good for plants I think. I don't know. I don't know anything about plants. This this is reptile video. Some of them have darker blue lights which should still be turned off at night but they can be good for mimicking sunrise and sunset. I do have some bad news though. Bulbs that emit UV rays will run out of UV. Even if they still turn on and create light, they lose the benefits that you purchase them for. How often you need to replace this bulb varies.

[00:07:06]You can test the output with a solar meter, but it's easier to just Google for your particular bulb and follow a schedule. So, as an example, a breed dragon could have a mercury vapor bulb to bask and a UVB panel across the top.

[00:07:18]Both of them get turned off at night. If your house is really cold and your dragon needs some supplemental heat, consider a deep heat projector instead.

[00:07:26]But similar to a daytime and nighttime lighting cycle, it's good for temperatures to cool down as well to mimic nature when the sun sets. So avoid keeping the basking temperature super hot all night, even if your heating bulb doesn't create light. It's not the end of the world if your temperature stays the same all day and all night, but it will likely help your reptile sleep better, [music] conserve energy, and regulate metabolism. So, think of it as flipping your lizard's pillow to the cold side every night. If you enjoyed, check out how a very common vitamin supplement mistake can make your lizard go blind.

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