Last question hopefully! (Basking/Heating)

[JMiller24]

Kk, Toothless's new cage finally arrived and I'm pretty much ready to roll as far as setting it up. I've just run into one last thing I can't figure out (after plenty of googling).


The cage is 72L x 30D x 18H

Along the back wall, spaced evenly, are three fixtures for 18 inch fluorescents. I will be putting 3 repti-sun 10.0s in there which should take care of the UVB.

In the center, about 18 inches in (from the right side) I have a 8.5 inch circle screen and the another circle screen about 38 inches in.
My thoughts were that the first screen would be for the basking lamp and the second would be for some other heat source/night light just in case it gets too cold (because of the size of the enclosure).

Anyway, I'm sorry , I'm going to have a little trouble explaining the issue but here goes.

I'm a little confused as to what I need for a basking lamp / heat source for the enclosure. Are these basking bulbs intended to heat the whole enclosure or should you have one type of bulb for a basking spot and another for heating the enclosure?

What types of bulbs would you guys recommend? My main goal is to have a good basking spot for him and another light that lets me see him at night and provides extra heat if needed in the winter. I read up on those Mercury Vapor bulbs, but they seem unnecessary since I'll already have 3 UVB strips in there.

As far as the night time viewing, it isn't a huge deal, but it would be nice. Do those blue night time bulbs mess with their sleep?

Also, I don't mind splurging for reptile specific bulbs if you guys have any that you particularly like.

[Linnea]

what type of regular basking bulb you use is entirely specific for your situation.

if i use my own skinks terrarium as an example, my room is very cold in winter overall so the "overall" temp in the terrariums cooler part would be too low. so i use a bulb that can heat the whole enclosure, more or less. im happy with the ferplast brand, but it is expensive to pick a non-spot heating bulb with a brand on since they are generally found cheap in store with exactly the same wattage and life expectancy, i just cant find them since i live in a village.

if you have a general temp that is proper for the cooler side of the terrarium, you can pick either a wide-heating or a spotheating lamp, up to you. but generally.......i think the wide ones are better, no risk of it being too warm, and bts are so long so i think a less concentrated "heat beam" is more....regular. i keep one each of 50W, 75W and one hundred W.

about the specifics, i dont know. sorry. my english fails me when speaking of lightbulbs and heatbulbs.


although, consider using d3 supplement if you are using that many uvb bulbs, it could be much less expensive than changing them every 6 months.

about the night bulbs, how are you going to see him when he sleeps? they tend to be hidden, occasionally switching sleeping position.

extra light in winter....i think ceramic bulbs are good in use and not disturbing your reptile. just make absolutely sure that he cant get to it since it would burn badly.

[JMiller24]

Thank you Linnea!

The temperature where I live is fine for the cool side I believe. I keep it around 75. So I think I will look into those wide-heating lamps.

Good point on not being able to see him when he sleeps! Sometimes he wanders around at night (when I have his light off) and I like to see him then, but it isn't a big deal.

I probably did over-do it with the 3 repti-suns because I already do use D3. He is just my first reptile and I am over doing things a little.

[JMiller24]

Those ferplasts look nice. Unfortunately I am in the U.S. and they are sold over seas =( . Thank you though!

[Fatal_S]

To start with, 3 UVB bulbs is overkill and a waste of money. Remember they only emit UVB for about 6 months. You'd be buying way too many new bulbs to keep the UVB up. Personally, I would use 2 at most (changing each out once a year, so you're buying one bulb every 6 months), and leave the cool end dark.

Anything providing UVB would be useless if it's over screen, so I'd ignore those types of bulbs for the screen areas. And remember that animals need a dark place to retreat from the UVB whenever they feel the need. So be sure there is a dark hide on both the hot and cold sides.

For the screens it sounds like you'll want one bulb to be a spot light (focuses the heat in a small area - on the basking platform). Then on the other screen you could have maybe a blue or red heat flood bulb to just add extra heat to the tank. You could also use a CHE, but that wouldn't give you any light at night. Lights will not bother a skink at night, just give it dark hides where it can retreat when it wants to. Whether or not to have light is up to you.

Lastly, if you feel the tank isn't warm enough, you could use something like heat cable, a heat mat, or flexwatt to provide additional heat without adding more lights. For myself, on a tank that large, I would use two small heat cables, one on either side, taped to the bottom of the tank. Then I could heat whichever side I felt needed the boost. When I don't need the extra heat, I just unplug the heat cable.

[JMiller24]

You've persuaded me to only use 2 UVB strips (leaving the cool end dark). You also saved me 30$! Thank you!

As far as your suggestions for the screens, that sounds perfect! Do you have any specific bulbs/brands you like?

I'll start there, see how the heating works out, and then add cables as necessary.

Thanks again Fatal!

[Fatal_S]

Remember that adding the cables once everything is in the tank is harder than adding them when it's empty. Just a note from someone who'd tried adding them afterwards.

I actually suggest checking out a hardware store for bulbs. You don't need a specific reptile bulb unless you need UVB. So look for a couple spots and a maybe the store would even have some red lights to try out. You'll save lots of money, and that means you can try different bulbs to find the right fit.