Frances Baines is a recently retired veterinarian who spent the last 19 years researching the use of specialist lighting, including ultraviolet lighting, in the husbandry of reptiles, amphibians and more recently, mammals, birds and invertebrates. Until her retirement, Frances was an appointed Advisor to the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), who awarded her Honorary Membership in 2019, and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria Animal Welfare Working Group. Frances has led training workshops in many zoos in the UK, Europe, and USA, and she has given numerous presentations to herpetological and zoological societies. Over the years, she has worked with veterinarians, zoo keepers, conservationists, herpetologists, and amateur keepers, as well as major reptile lighting manufacturers, who want to improve the lives of reptiles and other animals in captivity.
When a team at Texas Christian University developed the concept of ultraviolet index (UVI) ranges suitable for different species, Frances worked with Professor Gary Ferguson to further develop this concept into what she named the “Ferguson Zones“, which is now becoming accepted worldwide. As coordinator of a team within the BIAZA Reptile and Amphibian Working Group, Frances assisted with the production of a guide on the use of UVB in zoos. This open-access BIAZA RAWG UV-Tool was published in 2016 in the peer-reviewed Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research. Since then, Frances has co-authored a number of scientific papers and has contributed chapters on lighting to several textbooks, including Mader’s Reptile and Amphibian Medicine and Surgery, 3rd edition.
Although Frances claims to be retired, she is still busy with various reptile-related projects and is a member of a small independent research team running the Facebook Reptile Lighting Group, a busy international forum exploring new husbandry issues and offering free advice to reptile keepers with lighting and heating queries. She lives in South Wales, United Kingdom, with 21 lizards and a long-suffering husband!
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