Giant Day Geckos are diurnal creatures and they love basking in the sun. They’re active between 12 and 14 hours a day and you’ll need to make sure they have the light they need during this time. If they don’t, they can easily get anxious and stressed, causing their health to start deteriorating.
The proper set of light bulbs can actually enhance their green look and make them very pleasant to observe for hours. In this article, we’ll talk about everything you need to know about a Giant Day Gecko’s lighting needs and how to provide them with a healthy environment.
Giant Day Gecko Lighting Requirements
These beautiful green geckos love spending time in trees and they can be incredibly active during the day. And since they’re not particularly shy creatures, you will be able to observe their interesting behavior whenever you want. They won’t run away and hide when they see you, especially after they get used to their new home.
Giant Day Geckos thrive the best when you provide light bulbs that have a color temperature of 5,000 Kelvin along with a color-rendering index that needs to be above 85. This will help bring out the gecko’s best color and will make the whole vivarium much more pleasant to observe.
These geckos are purely diurnal lizards, which means that you should never attempt to mess with their day and night cycle. If you won’t be home when it’s time to turn the lights on or off, it’s best to use an automatic system that controls the lights according to the gecko’s needs.
After you decided what type of bulbs you’re going to get, look for a system that can manage all these bulbs even if the power shuts down in the house. It should have backup batteries that can maintain the same cycle for at least a few days in case of an emergency.
If you’ve never experienced electric problems in your house, you can get a system without batteries but it’s always best to be safe than sorry. You should also make sure the misting system is the same as unbalanced humidity levels can be very harmful to these geckos.
How many hours of light per day?
Your Giant Day Geckos will need between 12 and 14 hours of daylight every single day. During summer, you need to offer 14 hours, then slowly decrease the time until it reaches 12 hours in the winter. When spring comes, you’ll need to start gradually increase the daylight again to 14 hours.
There are some keepers that are always on the run and keep their geckos in whatever light condition they happen to be in during their everyday life. Some geckos might not be bothered by this and might even thrive without any problems. But most geckos get very anxious and stressed out if their inner clocked are messed with.
This is why it’s very important to respect the same day and night cycle that the gecko got used to in its natural habitat, even if it’s not a wild-caught lizard. Most geckos react very differently during the day and during the night, their behavior depending on whether they’re diurnal or nocturnal.
The sun is always the one that dictates the way a gecko acts, and some are more dependant on the sun than others. Light and heat are the main factors that dictate the circadian rhythm. This helps the lizard know when it should sleep or eat. Without it, a gecko’s body can respond very negatively
If you built a bio-active vivarium for your gecko, the lizard is not the only one that needs a good source of light. The natural plants that are inside the cage also need around 12 hours of daylight to help them grow and remain healthy. This might mean that you will have to invest in an extra bulb or one that can offer everything a live plant needs.
UVB Lighting – What is it
Geckos need special lights to lead a happy life and this includes UVA, UVB, and UVC light. All these types can be found in sunlight and they play an important role in the life of lizards. You should also keep in mind that glass and plastic are known to filter the UV wavelengths, which means you’ll need to place them directly above the habitat.
UVA light is the one that can help regulate the behavior of your Giant Day Gecko, by letting it know when it’s time to eat, mate, sleep, etc. This is the one that provides the 12 to 14 hours of daylight to your geckos.
UVB light is just as important, especially to day geckos. This is the light that helps the body synthetic vitamin D3, which is extremely important for lizards. Vitamin D3 is the one that helps the body absorb calcium from the food.
Although UVC is not necessary for any reptiles, it’s still a good idea to provide some. Its job is to help kill as many bacteria as possible. But you should keep in mind that lots of exposure to this light can be very dangerous.
You can find multiple UVB-producing bulbs that need to be replaced either every 6 months or every 12 months. But now there are also light bulbs made specifically for lizard enclosures and are designed to provide all lights at once, in moderation.
Do Giant Day Geckos need heat lamps?
Giant Day Geckos love basking in the sun and they naturally come from a very hot environment. This means that you will also have to provide a heat lamp or two. If the temperature gets too low, they can start getting sick or change their behavior entirely.
During the day, you should keep the temp between 82 and 86F, and between 75 and 82F during the night. But you should also make sure it has a good basking spot that is always around 95F. This will help the Giant Day Geckos regulate their body temperature without any problems.
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