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UV lights in the care of caudates

herpvet

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Sorry to come back to this late again, but does anyone have any further information about the conference mentioned? I've been trying to find details (including PMing Yagoag), but can't get any more information. Am VERY interested in this information.

Thanks for any help,

Bruce.
 

stavroske

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I think the need of UVB is totally dependend of the species and should not be generalised. I've seen Triturus cristatus hanging right under the surface when the sun was shining or floating a while after taking a breath. Triturus cristatus seems to sunbath regulary, which might be a clue that they really need a high Uv exposure.
When you compare this with the behavior of Mesotriton alpestris for example, you can see a big difference. Mesotriton a., most of the time, dives straight back down when they come to the surface to take a breath, whish can be a clue that they don't really need a high Uv exposure...
Even if you look to the day/night activity of these species there is a lot of difference too. Mesotriton is only active during the days in spring en gets night-active during summer. While Triturus is night-active during spring and day/night active during summer (even hanging under surface by day).
Uv is always present during the day, so every animal that gets active during day (even when it's wet and cloudy) gets exposed to it. Staying in the water during summer, makes it possible to get a high Uv exposure without drying out the skin.
Larvea gets exposured when they eat. Water fleas always group in the sunlight wish makes it easy to catch for the larvea. Exploring their natural behavior and looking at small details could bring a lot answers, if you ask me.
It's a very interresting topic and I'm very curious to which facts it will bring us

Kind regards,

Steven
 

swalter

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I'm just wondering if anything new came up in this thread. I've been having a black light on my axolotl tank with six 1-year old axies and they have been acting differently than with a normal light. I thought the normal flourescent bulb was too bright for them; that's why I switched to a black light. I've noticed that the axies all pile up in one corner in their hide (a transparent plastic hamsterhouse) as if they are avoiding the glare of the black light. It really doesn't have much glare to it; only white things illumnate through the tank. I've been turning the light off until I know more about effects of black light on axolotls. Can anybody give me any feedback on this? So far my search for articles online ended in dead-end websites that wanted me to pay 30 bucks or more for scientific papers I may not understand anyway. :) Help?
Thanks from a frustrated secretary that happens to love axies. :)
 
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