The right bulb

[nic]

for years I have used a standard flourescent bulb for my ambystoma habitat. While it seems fine for them, the moss never survives under it. Does anyone know of a bulb type strong enough for moss that won't burn the delicate skin of my ambystoma's?
thanks in advance.

 

[jennifer]

You could try the "plant & aquarium" fluorescent bulbs, but you'll have to tolerate the slightly pink color of the light. And there's no guarantee that the moss would do much better. It seems that some moss can adapt to terrariums, and some dies not matter what you do.

Some indirect room light (near a window, but not in any direct sun) will help plants a lot.

(Message edited by jennewt on November 10, 2006)

 

[nic]

Thanks Jennifer! Are you sure the plant and aquarium bulbs are okay for the sensitive skin of ambystoma though? Some aquatic specialists say they're designed to penetrate the water so they are designed to be brighter, more powerful and would burn a salamander.

 

[jennifer]

Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. I guess if the sals spend much time out from under cover you should check into that. I don't know.

 

[hunter]

A treasure trove of reasonable lighting:
http://www.naturallighting.com/web/shop.php
I just ran across this. They are experts on good lighting.

 

[nicholas]

I have always used the houseplant florescent bulbs that you can buy at a hardware store for my tanks. They are not designed to be as penetrating as the aquarium bulbs. My plants have always done well, and I've never noticed anything untoward in my animals.

 

[coen]

I recently bought this one for my new tank, it great, lot's of light and almost no heat, you can grab the light easily, just a little warm.

http://www.zoomed.com/html/compacts.php

I've got the 5.0 version. It's pretty expensive though, but I guess it's worth it if you want to grow your live plants.

 

[nic]

HEY! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS!