# Lighting and rats



## Emarkum339 (Apr 9, 2020)

I recently installed some led strip lights in my room, however after doing some research I found that some led lights have caused blindness in Rats. Nothing said specifically what strength of lights so I was just wondering if these strip lights are safe to use in my room or if I should not be using them. Don't want my Rats to go blind so I had to check with someone.


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## samiwhittall (Apr 12, 2020)

LED, blind rats and the dangers of extrapolation







www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk


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## Rana (Jun 18, 2017)

My understanding is that while _any_ light will cause damage and even blindness if you shine it directly into an animal's (or your own) eyes for long enough, at a bright enough intensity (think: staring into the sun, or directly at a laser pointer), LEDs in a household setting are no more at risk of this than any other light source.

If the light strip is very bright- enough to illuminate the entire room when _not_ combined with other strips- and/or it is pointing directly at the rat cage (or where they spend a lot of time, like a play area) from a foot or so away, you may want to cover it with a DIY lampshade. Plain white fabric like a t-shirt or pillowcase, or paper taped over the bulbs would work well to diffuse the light and make it less harsh and direct. (LEDs don't put out a lot of heat so this should be safe, but leave some room between the strip & the cover just in case)

If the lights aren't that bright, and aren't pointed directly at your rats from pretty close... I would bet that they're just fine. You can still cover them with a shade if you are worried, of course.

Additionally, rats have pretty bad vision anyway, especially ones with pink eyes. If for some reason your rats _did_ go blind, there would be very little change to their behavior and ability to get around, so you may not even know unless you do testing. And there are plenty of reasons for rats to have their vision compromised.

In a nutshell: I think blindness from LEDs is highly unlikely to occur outside of a laboratory testing for limits.


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## anuragbethley8 (9 mo ago)

It sounds strange. I've never heard about that phenomenon. I've never heard that artificial light could damage a rat's sight. Please, you have to share with us if you know any studies that prove that. I was nearly to purchase LEDs from lightingandsupplies.com, and your thread stopped me and made me think a bit. I hesitate to rush and buy them before I'm not 100% sure it doesn't provide any harm to my rats. I would highly appreciate other opinions and evidence! Many thanks for considering my request.


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