Your correct with your worries Robyn. At the time when I took that picture the set up was not complete. I took that picture right after I put the dirt in and living in Alaska I did not have access to a chemical free dirt-no one carries it, I looked long and hard. So...I used Forest Bed, which is a finer dirt then I want and you have to add water to it to expand it. I mixed it with sand and vermiculite. My lamps were not set right at all. That picture was taken the night I set that up, the following morning I purchased a lamp stand where I could lower my lighting down to get a more percise temp and it is adjustable so as the heat flux's my lamps can adjust to compensate. The dirt is mostly dry now and very warm. I can lift it and sift it and I can feel just a slight dampness to it. I am using a digital outdoor themometor and I am getting a reading of 130 on my basking and on my cooler side (it's near a window)-ranges from 79-85. Oh one thing else that is different in that photo is my hot lamp was a 75w rep heat light-which came with the lizard and I purchased an indoor 90w halogen. As well I replaced the 40w blach heat bulb with a 60w.

I very much appreciate you jumping in and asking and making points. If you see anything in this post that isn't right please let me know. I do know that 120 is the "ideal" temp for the basking spot but I wanted mine a tad higher to compensate for using a digital themometer and by touch it just feels right. Oh, one more thing I changed...there was a heatrock in the setup and I took that out and I placed a heatpad on the bottom of the tank-it is covered by a piece of tile so it takes the bite off the heat incase the Uro digs down to the bottom of the tank-(the heat pad is outside the tank) I measure the temp with a probe from my themometer at it read 85 degrees.

I think the swollen feet may be due from the heatrock-when I took it out it was so hot I couldn't hold it. The Uro's swollen feet just looked burned- I could be off on that but I it makes you wonder.

Anyhow, this is a long enough. Thanks again for posting to me.

Tammy

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