Most of the scientific papers I have read do not include brands of pigment powders. The two I have seen are DayGlo and Radiant Color, but the specific powder types are not listed. This application will use UV light for tracking.
DayGlo is the one I am familiar with. They have an ECO pigment series with a range of colours including Pink, Red, Orange (2 kinds), Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet, and Magenta. You're looking at ~$125 per half pound. They are non-toxic, never used them with amphibians though, only insects. Hope this helps.
Radiant Color is no longer in business. DayGlo stocks their pigments.
Last time I talked with them (many years ago) there were two options.
The first option is essentially the Radiant Color product that everyone
historically used. The product number for what I currently have is
A-16N Arc Yellow Pigment (they have several colors available). This product does
have free formaldehyde (less than 0.1%).
They have a newer product without the free formaldehyde. The product
number for what I currently have is Z-18-3 Signal Green Pigment (also in several other colors).
We used the old product for most of the tracking we did. I do remember
the consistency of the newer product was different than the older product -
I think I remember that it didn't flake off the skin as well. We did do a small safety test in newts using both formulations and found no differences (Applied Herpetology). I also have a paper in where we tested for negative respiration effects in newts and
red-backs covered in powder - we found no difference between control salamanders
and powered salamanders using the older product. We were surprised it
didn't impact the redbacks, but I guess it really is the same as being covered
I tried to send you reprints through the ResearchGate system, but I am a new user and couldn't figure it out. You can see the citations on my page and click the request reprint link I think so I can send them your way if wanted.
Mr. Hossie and Dr. Grayson, thank you for your help. Dr. Grayson, yes, I have a .pdf of your 2008 paper on N. viridescens and that is one of the few papers I have found that list the product information for the powder. Too bad Radiant Color is no longer in business. It is good to know those pigments from DayGlo don't seem to affect amphibians from your studies. Other studies have shown similar findings, but the company is not mentioned. I looked on the DayGlo Store website, but neither of the pigment product numbers you mentioned are listed for sale. I may need to contact them or look for other sellers of their products. Their website does, however, list the product numbers of both pigments. It looks like the Arc Yellow is a thermoplastic fluorescent pigment, and the signal green is a "Z Pigment", also for plastics.
I also used DayGlo a few years ago but the operator would not sell me the powder. I learned from another person that they will send you "samples" upon request. That's free! I received enough to try out a few colors and actually do a complete project. If you're in the experimental phase of learning what color is best, they may send you samples if you simply ask. From what they told me, it's just the powder before the paint is made. So this may be the same with any company that makes or uses fluorescent paint. If you find other means, please keep us updated.
Please may I have the links or pdf's of those publications you mentioned. I am making a decision to use the fluorescent pigment powder to track nocturnal lizards here in New Zealand. I need to have more facts to justify the use, and to prove that it will not expose the lizards to predatory risk. Thanks
May I please also have the links or pdfs to the publications mentioned. I plan to use tracking powder for my thesis research and would appreciate the additional sources! Thank you.