# does a leopard Gecko ever sun bathe?



## Chrisuk33 (Oct 10, 2010)

i read somewhere that leos sometimes like to bask (sun bathe:lol2
is this true? confuses me cos i thought leos are nocturnal and that it would never do that?

should i put a tub light in so it can get used to a light and dark situation?
should i get one of those exo terra blue moon bulbs? will the leo come out at night if i do?


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

They bask in their hot end whenever they feel the need, so you don't need to add any lights or bulbs 
They are nocturnal so they come out at night anyway.


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## Splogdog (Nov 19, 2010)

There is no need for any bulbs as there nocturnal and get the heat through there bellies from the heat mat...


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## Chrisuk33 (Oct 10, 2010)

Splogdog said:


> There is no need for any bulbs as there nocturnal and get the heat through there bellies from the heat mat...


 
i know there nocturnal and i know how they get there heat but there are some threads or stories that say "sometimes" they like to bask in a bit of light, now wether in this case so i put the light on during the day and switch it off at night to strighten out the 12-12 day night thing or!!! should i get a moonlight bulb for that little bit of moon like glow simulating a outdoor night


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## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

Chrisuk33 said:


> i know there nocturnal and i know how they get there heat but there are some threads or stories that say "sometimes" they like to bask in a bit of light, now wether in this case so i put the light on during the day and switch it off at night to strighten out the 12-12 day night thing or!!! should i get a moonlight bulb for that little bit of moon like glow simulating a outdoor night


I'm sure the leo is perfectly happy as it is. I'm sure she can distinguish between day and night herself providing she's in a room that gets some natural light.
My girl has no additional lighting other than the sunlight coming through my window, which obviously disappears at night. They will come out when it's dark, simple as. You don't need a light to simulate the moon's glow. 
And 12 hours of light and 12 of dark is debatable - Panya gets about 8 hours of daylight what with the shorter days and she is perfectly healthy.


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

Chrisuk33 said:


> i know there nocturnal and i know how they get there heat but there are some threads or stories that say "sometimes" they like to bask in a bit of light, now wether in this case so i put the light on during the day and switch it off at night to strighten out the 12-12 day night thing or!!! should i get a moonlight bulb for that little bit of moon like glow simulating a outdoor night



some people do like have a day and night cycle so they'll have lights on during the day. 
Like you say, they are nocturnal but not vampires so sometimes they'll appear during the day.


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## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

Actually Leos are not strictly nocturnal - they are crepuscular - which means they are most active at dusk and dawn. They can bask during these hours. A low % uv source (5% would be my prefered - emitting both UVa and UVb) will often be used and can be beneficial. What I would add to this is a couple of things. If you have an albino then they are very light sensitive and I would never use a UV for them. If you have any other morph then by all means provide UV if you wish BUT you also* have* to provide dark hides where they can escape the rays. UV is utilised to synthesise vitamin D3. If you provide enough dietary D3 in your supplementation (using such as Nutrobal) then Leos do very well without UV light. This is still a highly debated topic.
I have to say that I do not use UV for any of my Leos, prefering to supplement them. However any rescues whos diet may have been deficient (apart from albinos) do get a temporary UV boost. I hope this helps a bit in this difficult area.


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## deevtec (Mar 31, 2010)

Currently have 4 diff morphs of leos and have headlamps in the vivs and I regularly. See 3 out of the 4 bask directly under the light, 1 bein a tremper albino! I had a heatmat on in the evenings when i1st got them but now I don't bother so much with the heatmat and they are all very healthy lizards


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