is it possable for a no heat emmited uv lamp to burn a water dragon? it lays about 1" from the light and now has what looks like a singed eye brow ????
2007-02-01 23:56:13 · 6 answers · asked by bakerjunkie 1 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
Could he have touched the end of the fluorescent tube where it tends to get hot. I would put some sort of cage around the light to protect the lizard.
2007-02-02 03:13:44 · answer #1 · answered by stevehart53 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Make sure the dragon can't get closer than 12-18" to the light.
The explanation given by the person explaining IR and UV light didn't make much sense (he's dead on) but I only get it because I've operated a nuclear power plant. What he said in english is:
Your dragon probably has a radiation burn...not a heat burn.
Related example: your microwave oven. The microwave beams are not rays of emitted heat...thus the plastic in the microwave stays cool, but the cup of water that is in the microwave will boil.
2007-02-02 19:54:54 · answer #2 · answered by moabmusher 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
light, any photons, will convert to heat when it is adsobed by matter. uv is also called actinic light, because of the molecular structure change it causes when hitting the matter. this is apart from from heating. for example, IR is not actinic, that is will not cause so much molecular change. but will heat that surface non the less. what is often misunderstood is that IR photons are not "heat" photons. it is just that these photons are associated with hot things; further, your IR remote control gives off photons at about ~1000 nm which is about ~400*C. yet your remote does not get that hot. in the same way actinic light, UV, does not feel hot because generally such emissive devices run cool, but will cause molecular change and that molecular change is is not caused by heat.
a most dramatic demonstration of this to notice a printed color material in a window exposed to sunlight. over time the print will appear to go blue. this is because the colors from the longer part of the spectrum adsorbs the actinic part of the spectrum and is more apt to cause change. so it is wrong to think that UV is "less hot" than IR....it is way hotter because each the energy of the photon is greater. also, there is a difference between adsorbtion and absorbtion.
2007-02-02 08:16:58 · answer #3 · answered by Kreep 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋
Sounds like the light is too close and emitting too much UV.
2007-02-02 08:14:35 · answer #4 · answered by KathyS 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Keep the uv light 12 inches or above away from basking areas and the reptile. Remember, UV lights are NOT a heat source unless they are a UV light and heat lamp combined.
2007-02-02 11:43:01 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Yes, it is too close to him.
2007-02-02 09:55:35 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋