Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 20 gallon tank for my Gargoyle and she's currently freezing! I have a ceramic heat emitter in a reflector over one end of the cage, but it doesn't seem to be heating very well because my thermometer only reads about 69 max during the day and about 62 at night. When our ambient temp was higher this summer it kept the tank just right, but now I'm afraid she's too cold (granted, she IS a female and likes these temps prior to breeding, but long-term is not what she had in mind, I think!) I'd like some suggestions as to bulbs or other heat sources that may help raise the temp in the tank. I recently came across a heating cable made to coil around branches in the tank...I know this is not a species keen on surface heat/basking, but would this be an option? If not, what can I use that will provide good day and night heat? I am thinking of getting an ESU combo light (to house a fluorescent 2 incandescents), but have found that the incandescents do a poor job of heating. Any ideas? Thanks!
Kat and Leezaard

That should be more than enough. Maybe you should try another thermometer just to make sure it's not that.
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1.0 savannah monitor
0.4 leopard geckos
0.0.1 anole
0.1.1 crested geckos
1.1 bearded dragons
0.2 common boas (BCI)
1.0 ball python
0.0.1 western hognose
0.1 kenyan sand boa
0.0.1 green tree frog
0.0.1 golden tree frog
0.0.2 fire belly toads
0.0.1 Sulcata tortoise
0.0.1 desert hairy scorpion
0.0.10 baby florida bark scorpions
0.0.1 texas millipede
1.2 sugar gliders 0.2 joeys
0.1 grey chinchilla
2.0 cats
0.2 guinea pigs

Matt Smith

I agree with checking the thermometer, does the room feel that cold to you?

I would avoid those heating vines, it would be hard to monitor the temperature, IMHO and could burn some toes. We had a string of cold days here and I bought the one thing I knew would work which is an UTH. We started with leopard geckos and for them UTHs are a must. I wasn't sure how our crestie would react but she seemed to love it. I bought it because I was used to dealing with them, but I believe it is a good option. Just buy the smallest one you can find, some stores even sell lower power Under Tank Heaters designed for the kind of environment Rhacs are from. A dimer switch can also be used to fine tune the temps if needed. Just using ours straight, with a room temp of 67F her hot side was at 81F, FYI.

A day/night timer is also a great idea. Just another suggestion, something else to think about.
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0.1 Albino Leo Gecko
0.1 Crested Gecko
1.0 Dear Boyfriend
Departed: Harvey and Spock

I have to agree it could be your thermometer at fault. What sort of thermometer are you using? WHat are your room temperatures? A ceramic heat emitter should be powerful enough to heat up a 20 gal tank to the comfort level of a bearded dragon without much effort.
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PHLdyPayne

It's a TOM digital thermometer/hygrometer. I am relatively warm-blooded so I prefer my house cold - I would say unless the outside temperature drops below 40F I don't turn on my heaters. My house gets about 50F or so at night. I try to keep the thermometer at the middle of the tank to get an average heat reading, though if I put it directly under the lamp it only goes up one or two degrees. I've been watching it more closely the past few days, and it seems to be staying warmer - at least not dropping below 65F at night. Plus, there is a large grapevine directly under the lamp that she can climb if she gets too cold.

Has anyone had their Rhacos like fish? Mine loves thin slices of catfish coated in calcium. I give it to her maybe every three weeks, and she usally lays eggs pretty soon afterward. Of course, I always mix calcium into her fruit, but she devours the fish! She won't even look at crickets or mealworms.
Kat