On Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:04:11 +0000 (UTC), enigma
wrote:
Bob wrote in
:
That's the current status, though we don't have a lot of potted
plants. They limit floor space. Hence the interest in something
they could walk on, even if it needs to be swapped out
periodically.
ok, then, have you tried full spectrum UVB bulbs. i'd think they
would help with depression in the patients, and i know that they
work pretty well on the plants in my tort pens. i mostly use the
CFL UVB bulbs, but you can get tubes as well.
Oh yeah, I have several types of UVB lights. That's something that I
researched a lot when I dealt with reptiles. Always worried about
MBD, but there have also been some vet conference seminars that have
correlated location (probably light and temperature) with other
diseases. I believe there was some relation between incidence of
osteomyelitis in northern states. Something that may be worth looking
into if your animals are prone (I've enountered it).
I deal with warm-blooded creatures these days, so they can still get
some outdoor time during the winter. We set up cages where we can
shuttle them from indoors to outdoors for 1/2 hour or an hour, and it
seems to keep them happier (Now if I were only less busy with the
little buggers, I'd be able to go outside too).
At the time that I was looking for data on UVB, the main resource was
a Yahoo group called "UVB Meter Owners":
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/UVB_Meter_Owners/
Kind of a misleading name in that many did specialize in reptiles.
There were a lot of great people there, both on the more scientific
end, and others who did extensive testing to try to improve reptile
environments.
One of the newer topics when I was active (it's been a few years) was
the Weston UVB lamp; a full sized flood with external ballast. There
was a lot of debate about whether the fluorescent-type designs
(Zoomed, etc) were weak, or the Weston-type bulbs were too strong.
I don't know about resolution to that, but I did end up trying a
couple Weston bulbs. My feeling was that even if the fluo bulbs were
putting out enough 310nm, that the close proximity required would
result in hit or miss exposure. Since UVB radiation obeys inverse
square law, my feeling was that the more powerful Weston type could be
mounted at greater distance, for less proximity sensitivity. IOW,
distance between the lamp and green critter would not vary over as
wide a percentage. When you consider it, that's closer to how
sunlight works.
Anyway, since you still deal with reptiles, I thought that may be of
interest to you.
i would try getting some heavy duty jelly roll type pans from a
kitchen supply (or plastic boot trays maybe?) and punching several
drainage holes. if you know a sheet metal worker, you could get
actual 3x3 pans made, but jelly roll pans might be as close as
commercially available. fill with a sterile medium (even damp paper
towels) & sprout rye/wheat grass. those both grow pretty quickly,
so you might be wanting to start new trays at least weekly, so you
can swap out the too tall or trampled grass.
Great idea! Restaurant supply we -do- have. g I'll check with
them.
i'm not much on squirrels, but i've repaired a few raccoon & birds,
and a big brown bat with a torn wing (hint: bats do not stay in
bird cages g). i'm more into reptile repair myself. it's amazing
what a turtle can survive.
lee
I love turtles. Never kept one, though we used to occasionally rescue
them when I lived in the sticks.
Already mentioned that my father studies bats. Moved close to some of
the large caves. Beautiful creatures. Yeah, I wouldn't want to chase
one around if he got loose. Not sure how you recaptured yours.
One of the current concerns is White Nose Syndrome (WNS), which you've
probably heard of:
http://www.forums.caves.org/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=6083
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Nose
Gotta wonder where these things come from. Luckily, it doesn't appear
to have spread much into southern states yet. Gotta hope that it's
dependant on northern environment, or that's bad news for large bat
populations.