Temps. way too high

[amb44]

Hi,

I was pretty confident that my enclosure had a nice gradient going on, only to discover when I got my temp. gun that it is way too hot. Yesterday when I came home the basking rock was 51C (!!!!), and today even though I moved it to the side of the ceramic heat lamp it still got up to 45C. My 'low' end is averaging at about 32C. The temps. do drop after I turn of the UVB light but I don't want to have this off all the time so turning it off during the day isn't an option.

The enclosure size is 36 x 18 x 27, and I have a 100 watt ceramic heat lamp at one end. I took out the big piece of slate that was the basking rock and replaced it with a lighter coloured river stone as I thought maybe the slate was holding the heat and making things even hotter. I was advised by the pet shop to leave the ceramic heater on all night, but I will now be turning it off at night and will switch it on when I turn the UVB light on, and turn it off at the same time at night so it will be on roughly 11 hours a day.

Is there anything else I can do, or should I be replacing the ceramic heater with something else? I feel so terrible, and Helo has either frantically active or always hanging out on the cool side for the past few days. Right now I have the doors to the enclosure open to hopefully dissipate some of the heat. I think today he was even trying to cool down in the water bowl but it is too small for him to fit in.

Thanks,

Amy

[critterguy]

Sounds like you might be able to get away w/o the ceramic heat emitter.

I've found the most efficient combination is an undertank heat mat coupled with an incandescent bulb-if things still get to hot you could just use a flourescent fixture. UVB hasn't been shown to be necessary for bluetongues-many breeders raise many without it. Also, it is easy enough to give them UV exposure with trips outside. I currently heat two bluey enclosures with a single heat matt that draws about 28 watts. I turn it off at night unless it is a particularly cold one. Bluetongue lizard preferred body temperature when active is somewhere between 29-33C so you should allow for a gradient centered around this during the daytime.

[Katrina]

Just get a dimmer and lower / dim the 100 watt bulb. A dimmer is available at any hardware store and you can dim the bulb so that the basking spot is the desired temperature.

[critterguy]

Thats another option. It would be better though to switch to something with lower wattage-both for your bills and for the safety of the animals.

[Katrina]

Thats another option. It would be better though to switch to something with lower wattage-both for your bills and for the safety of the animals.

True - get a dimmer right away to lower the temps, then find a bulb that is a wee bit higher that the perfect basking temp and use the dimmer to reach your perfect temp. Gives you some wiggle room. Don't want it to be too high, right now it is too hot.

[Richard.C]

definatly to hot for an eastern,40 tops at the basking spot and id aim for low 20,s at the cool end,shouldnt need any night heat unless it gets really cold,15 to 20 would be ideal,id probably find a lower watt bulb if the 100 watt ceramic is to hot,maybe save that for winter if u want to keep him active and lower bulb wont raise temps enough,id probably try a 60 watt reflector globe from the supermarket or hardware store,doesnt have to be a reptile one,as most of those are the same,just have reptile packaging and charge 10 times more for it.

this is a great example of why thermometers are good to test for temps and why big temp gradients are important,as you can judge by what your lizard does as to if u need to warm or cool your cage

[amb44]

Thanks guys! I will go out later tonight and get myself a dimmer and once that's all adjusted figure out what bulb wattage i should change too. I knew I should have just done what the care sheet said and not listened to the pet shop *sigh*.

[amb44]

thanks richard, i will keep my eye out for a 60 watt reflector globe when i am at bunnings this evening. and can you believe this is happening in autumn?! i thought things were meant to be getting cooler now, not be hot and humid still.

[Richard.C]

depends where u locate enclosures,what type of enclosure,room temps where cages are kept,if it holds reasonable temps year round ect ect as to what size bulb to use,not a set size per say for all situations,ceramics give off a lot of heat,especially in smaler enclosures

weathers been getting wackier by the year hasnt it,lol,copping a nice warm spell here to,good for my late producers of babies,normall id bring them indoors now if they hadnt dropped

[amb44]

Yes I measured the ceramic at the same time, and it is over 200C. I think its time it went! At least the crazy weather works for your someone

[Richard.C]

let us know how it goes with a reflector,i frequent bunnings my self

[amb44]

in the end i didn't make it out to bunnings, but bought two bulbs from the supermarket. i put the 60 watt in, and when i got home the basking rock was about 37C and the cool end 29C. it would be great if i could get the cool end a little bit cooler, but at least he has a proper gradient now! he seems much happier, the water bowl hasn't been emptied into the carefresh, and he is currently sleeping under a mound of carefresh (i think anyway, there's a tunnel leading to the big mound and i can't see him anywhere else). so we are both much happier thanks once again for your help!

Amy

[iLoveMyLizard]

Im using a ceramic heater in my viv too. I have a 150w bulb and have it controlled by a Habistat Pulse Proportional thermostat day/night which, when on a timer, switches to night time temps automatically without any intervention from yourself. My enclosure is 4ft x 2ft and 1.7ft high and my temps are around 35 C basking spot, 32 C at the hot end and 25 C at the cool end. Just maybe something to look at before splashing money on other products,

[Susann]

A few things come to my mind:
1) are your light fixtures attached? Do they sit on top of a screen lid?
I used to have my heatlamps suspended on lamp-hooks that you can adjust the height on. Could you raise the lamp fixture up a bit? That would easily cool the basking area--and surrounding area-- down a little bit.
2) instead of a regular bulb you could change to a "spotlight" type bulb over the basking area. They have a more concentrated beam so the heat doesn't spread as much. Might help a bit too.
3) add some plants or hides or other decor in the middle of the tank, to deflect some of the heat from getting to the cooler side.
Just a few fairly simple things you could try berfore tearing down what you have and spending tons of money....

[amb44]

Thanks Susann,

I switched to a flood light and had basically instant results which was great. To keep my peace of mind when I am at work I did splurge on a thermostat, so now everything should stay at ideal temperatures. My light is in the enclosure and is as high as it can go; with the thermostat I was able to rebuild my warm end hide which Helo appreciates judging by where he spent a decent chunk of his afternoon. He is definitely happier with the right temps - when I got him out today he actually had a run/slither/walk around the kitchen and dining room. I finally got to see that skinks are curious, not just wildly freaking out about everything. Of course this may be mostly due to him being used to me, but I think the right temps have helped him become more comfortable about everything.

Again, thanks everyone for your advice, the skink and I appreciate it