Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, I have been using regular ceramic domes up to now but want to enlarge and will require heavier wattage spots....150-250 I think.
My concern is wattage, heat and what to use to retrofit it for a bank of 3 or 4 lights (more if you think I should) for three 4-6 yo savannah monitors. (nothing spectacular sorry....still saving my nickels and dimes for something still legal in NY)I will have them up near three feet off the surfaces to avoid the monitors changing the bulbs.
SO, what do you use as the base fixture, wire, attached how to what? I am in the process of surfing for info too but would like what has worked safely for you.
TIA
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

the heat you are aiming for can easily be achieved with some 45 watt spot lights, several 150's is way overkill, and you will encounter dehydration problems, and not to mention the elec bill.

I also do not use high wattage bulbs, this is very dangerous. And unwise. I use 65 watt incandesent floods. I mount them to the ceiling in low cages or mount them under a half log. And hang the log in the cage. The monitors can bask under the lights, the basking area should be within six to eight inches from the lites. Or sit on top of the log with the lites mounted under it. I use hooks and chains, so I can adjust the height as needed.

What is very important is, the basking area needs to be a minimum of the SV lenght. It could be larger. You can use a bank of two or three bulbs for larger monitors. Your still running 130 to 195 watts. I use that for lacies, croc monitors, large albigs etc.

No, those bulbs cannot harm them if they touch them. In fact, its funny that you mention changing the bulbs, as they often unscrew them. Don't ask me, they do it when I am not looking. Even ackies.

In those mag articules, I explained it like this, in the old days, white man make big fire, sit far away, native american make small fire, sit close.

Note, I use to use 45watt halogen floods, but the manifacturers redesigned them and now they burn some species of monitors. Cheers

Okay, thanks both of you. I will rethink this. I felt I was going too low a wattage with 65 watt spots and it sounds like I was just going too small an overall area for the three of them with only three domes.
I have watched one of them try to hang from the dome but never had burn issues.(though I was a bit worried she would tear the cord up) I was basing my worries of burns on an iguana I had had that once hung on a dome and burned itself rather thoroughly down it's chest. It healed fine but mad me gunshy of having lower fixtures. I am changing out dirt as soon as weather permits and wanted to have everything ready for the rearranging.
SO...back to the drawing board.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

Monitors will indeed burn themselves just like iggies. In the iggies case, you made the mistake.

Reptiles only understand the area they come from. If that area never goes below a certain temp, then they have no understanding of that. This is also not about a species, but simply a local. Which means, Green iggies from both extremes, north and south, have a understanding of cooler temps that ones from the middle of the range do not.

When their body temps go below a certain level. Coupled with a small basking area(why I mentioned the basking area has to be from nose to butt) They will indeed burn a small spot while attempting to heat up their whold body. People do that too.

The truth is, one good basking area is better then three poor ones. Again in reality, you can put that one good one in the cage and three crappy ones, and all the animals will use the good one. Also, its some kind of odd paradigm that people have that makes folks think one lite up high. When in reality is worse for both humans and animals. Cheers

>>Monitors will indeed burn themselves just like iggies. In the iggies case, you made the mistake.
>>
>> Reptiles only understand the area they come from. If that area never goes below a certain temp, then they have no understanding of that. This is also not about a species, but simply a local. Which means, Green iggies from both extremes, north and south, have a understanding of cooler temps that ones from the middle of the range do not.
>>
>> When their body temps go below a certain level. Coupled with a small basking area(why I mentioned the basking area has to be from nose to butt) They will indeed burn a small spot while attempting to heat up their whold body. People do that too.
>>
>> The truth is, one good basking area is better then three poor ones. Again in reality, you can put that one good one in the cage and three crappy ones, and all the animals will use the good one. Also, its some kind of odd paradigm that people have that makes folks think one lite up high. When in reality is worse for both humans and animals. Cheers

I did make the mistake with the Ig. I made the heat source very stable, strong and high and into a 'climbing' area. He got chillier than he ought (he was outside one NY summer night)and climbed across the ceiling of the enclosure to the light.
Now the domes hang loosely and swing if you (or the monitors) try to grab them and they are just out of reach of their tripoding other than to set them swinging. But the 130 area isn't so large that more than one monitor can get totally warm. Since the three have grown up (and I really realized how large they are now!)I need a more area covered.
I have right now a ceramic emitter (60 or 65 watt) and two 65 watt spots. The spots are out at night but the emitter is always on and the room the enclosure is in is never below 70 and usually at 75-80.
If I understand you you have lower (physical proximity and wattage) heat in a bigger area so that they can get warm without the need to get closer to the source.
But they don't burn themselves under the bulb by touching the bulbs?
I am off to Lowe's tomorrow for other stuff and am going through the lights aisle.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny