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24 hour lighting?
In order to further enhance the level of choice in my varanids environments, I was thinking about switching them all to constant lighting. It makes sense to me because the lizard understands its own needs better than its keepers. Rather than having us force our own interpretation of a natural environment on it 24 hour lighting would allow the monitor to select the conditions it needs when it needs them. Also I am uncomfortable with the idea of "natural" conditions in the home; no matter how conscientious the keeper, whatever we do cannot compare to mother nature; it is far more likely that we will end up harming our charges because we misinterpret "natural" conditions and then misapply them in the vivarium.
Conversely, a 24 hour light cycle is about as far away from "natural" as you can get ( I'm fairly certain there aren't any monitors in the Arctic circle!) and I would worry about stressing out the more sensitive animals in my collection.
So, does anyone have any experience with this type of lighting setup? Has anyone ever actually compared animals kept under 24hr lighting with those kept under a conventional day/night cycle? Anyone with any opinion on the benefits/disadvantages of this type of lighting setup?
Regards, AJS
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