General BRS and other reptile question

[xkillmeowx]

I have a general question on heating elements for BTS and other reptiles. Why are heat rocks so frowns upon in the reptile community?

[Phil2018]

Heat rocks have the potential to burn your reptile when they bask on it as they get extremely hot and you can’t really control the temperature

[splashy07]

Heat rocks often go bad and overheat, and undertank heat mats can overheat the glass and should not be used without a reliable thermostat. For BTs, overhead lighting is best, on one side with access to a cooler area on the other. No need for nighttime heat if your residence ambients do not go below 65.

[xkillmeowx]

Thank you because I have used heat rocks and I always check them with the back of my hand or wrist and they are always just warm never hot and the heat mat the person at the reptile show told me to get I feel like it is too hot I touch it and feel like it is going to burn me so I unplug it and set up a heat lamp. What is a good watt bulb for a 20 gallon and a 10 gallon

[splashy07]

Smaller cages heat up rather quickly and don't really supply a temp gradient, so the lizard can't thermoregulate as he should. I'd invest in a temp gun to monitor cage temps to be sure it's not getting too hot. That can be just as bad as too cold. The bulb size would depend on your room ambients, with a screen top I would think a 75 would suffice. I don't want to say definitely though, as I do not use glass tanks for my reptiles. When I did, my smallest was a 40b with a 75-100 watt on one side and the rest of the screen covered with foil. Glass cages with screen tops lose a lot of heat so temp monitoring is a must. Also take into consideration your basking area distance from the bulb. I'd look into larger caging, too, even if your skink is small. Babies eat more and thermoregulation is extremely important.

[mb606587]

I tried using 20 watt heat cables one winter and wrapped them around my skinks hides. Even though I read it wasn't safe, I thought it's only 20 watts and like you said it always just seemed warm, never hot. I guess one night it overheated and here was the result. So yeah they aren't reliable. Sometimes pictures tell a story better.

IMG_0357.JPG

[splashy07]

Heating elements (most are cheaply made and malfunction frequently) should never be used inside the cage, or without a thermostat. Overhead lighting with correct wattage is all you need, and a $20 temp gun is a lifesaver.

[mb606587]

Yes temp guns are amazing. I recommend them to everybody. I wish I had one for all 3 levels of my house but for now running up and down steps with the one I have is giving me some exercise.

[traz64]

How do skinks handle noise? I set mine up near my TV and noticed he was very active while watching a movie. Are noises around 75db bad for blueys?

[kingofnobbys]

Electric heatrocks are a definite NO NO.

I use this kind of set up based on a simple switching thermostatic controller + a thermally limited (max 38 degC) plastic heatpad and some wall tiles : https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/vi ... 5&t=246355

7W heatpad
thermostat temperature set at 34 degC for my BTs (cycles between 33 and 35 degC).
Under a hide
I run the heatslabs 24/7 and my skinks love them especially overnight.

I also provide an overhead par38 incandescent spot globe to provide a basking spot.

If the heatpad's built in temperature limiting circuit fails, the thermostat senses the temperature and cuts the current
if if the thermostat fails , the power is cut (open circuit).

Been using these successfully for my BTs for nearly 10 years (never had a failure or a burnt skink), my location is subtropical coastal (never seen a frost in my yard (EVER) and I am in the natural range of eastern BTs.

If it get's colder than 18 degC inside your house overnight , your skink will benefit from a thermostat controlled ceramic heat emitter in it's tank and solid lid on the tank to reduce heat losses.

Some calcs I did to show the benefit of a solid timber lid are here : https://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/vi ... 4#p1816614
summary :
the solid lid prevents warmed air from escaping the tank immediately on warming by the basking globe or CHE (manufacturers don't seem to care that warmed air is very buoyant and rises immediately ==> you need higher wattage basking globes and CHE to the maintain the same temperatures in an open topped / mesh topped commercial "fish" tank style terrarium.
the solid lid insulated the tank from the cold conditions (air) outside the tank
the solid lid forces the warmed air created by the basking globe and / or CHE to circulate inside the tank promoting a nice thermal gradient

pros :
cat proof
perfect / solid base for mounting lights under

cons :
if the tank is not front opening , you need to add air vents to the ends of the tank (low and high) to allow some fresh air exchange.

[mb606587]

To traz64, noise from a TV or at 75 db, however you measure that, is not going to harm your BTS. I wouldn't advise that you leave the TV running all night long or have raging parties every night around your skink, as it might disrupt its sleep pattern, but I regularly vacuum and sometimes even play music (at reasonable volumes) when around my skinks. At first, they ran for cover, now it doesn't even faze them.

[splashy07]

Noise never seemed to bother mine. Not one of them bats an eye when I scream and holler watching hockey and football.
As stated above, I'm not talking all night long here.

[mb606587]

If you personally feel that the TV is bothering your skink, you could try placing a towel over the screen top portion of your enclosure (assuming that's what you have) while the TV is on. It should help muffle the sound. Just be sure a portion is left uncovered to provide some ventilation.

[Susann]

Heat rocks are bad for blue tongue skinks for several reasons.
No, they don't always get hot; yes, many other heating devices heat surfaces hotter than heat rocks tends to.
The problem for blue tongue skinks and heat rocks is this: Most commercial heat rocks are formed as rocks, and tend to generally be a bit small for a BTS. In order for a BTS to get, not only its entire belly but its core temp up to the temperature it needs to in order to digest its food, it may need to lay on that heat rock for a while, and where it's rock-shaped and not flat, the high spot of that heat rock may be pressed up against a small spot of the skink's belly for quite a while before the skink reaches the temp it needs. Where blue tongue skinks have very thick scales, burns can actually occur long before the skink registers too much heat.
What we recommend for blue tongue skinks is a flat basking area that is, not only large enough for an entire BTS to lay flat on it, but large enough that there is room on that area for the skink to move its belly around to a slightly hotter spot, or a spot that is just a little bit less hot. In other words, a basking area where your skink has some options, and not just one spot.

This is mainly why heat rocks are bad for blue tongue skinks. Then add to that all the other reasons that have already been brought up.

As far as lamps: what kind, what wattage, how far up, and so forth, is nearly impossible to say for the following REASONS.