Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently bought a 40 gallon breeder made for reptiles at petsmart after hearing that my 20 gallon was too small. so now its time for the newest question. I have a 150 watt bulb and a 75 watt bulb shining on kong at the moment. I have one of those cheap stick on thermometers that tops out at 105 degrees. The temp is consistently at 100 degrees. I guess my question is could my thermometer be wrong. I am asking because kong still stays in her cage 5 days out of the week.

The best way to adjust your temps is to buy an IR temp gun, you can get one at proexotics.com for 15-25 bucks. It's well worth the investment for your Uro's health and your piece of mind. It will only allow you to measure surface temps but you can find out how warm your basking spots are and inside your hides. If it's not getting somewhere in the range of 85-100 degrees your Uro may not know it is "daytime". It's also possible that he only comes out for a few hours everyday and you might miss it, or he could have parasites and be very lethargic. UVB, flowers, and bee pollen have all been used to perk Uro's up and get them active again, especially after winter. It's very possible that a cheap thermometer is not right and may never be right, I doubt it's too hot for Kong, generally even in extreme heat a healthy Uro would come out and bask only hiding from the heat at the hottest part of the day. I also personally think that you're not going to be able to get the temperatures correct in a 40. $.02
HH

The stick on thermometers are usually about 20 degrees off and are only measuring temps where you have it stuck. You can get a digital probe thermometer or a temp gun for pretty cheap at LLLreptiles.com I got my digital one there for like 5 bucks i think.

Most likely it is way to hot!

ooooo ok i am going to turn off the 75 watt bulb and see if that helps a little bit. thanks for the help

And get a sufficient thermometer right?

HaHa oops. yea that too

Don't take that 20 degree number as anything close to necessarily accurate. Those stick on thermometers could be off 10 or 20 degrees in either direction. It may be too hot, it may be too cold, and it may even be just right. You need to get a good digital thermometer along with an IR thermometer for measuring basking spot temps. That is the ONLY way to know the right answer.

>>ooooo ok i am going to turn off the 75 watt bulb and see if that helps a little bit.

Don't change anything unless you KNOW the problem. Get a good thermometer, and you'll know what you need to change and not risk making things worse.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
0.1 Collared Lizard (Rorschach)
2.1 Green Anoles (Bowser, Sprocket, Leeloo)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

I just wanted to send a "new home blessing" to Kong. He will be so much happier in his 40 gallon than the 20, and kudos to you for taking care of it right away! It is so exciting to me to see new owners who are so dedicated to providing a good environment for their Uro.

The temp gun and digital probe thermometers will really help you determine the gradient. I am trying to remember what I used on the 40 gallon... I think I used a 100-150 basking spot bulb (depending on the season), and a 60-75 watt "night" bulb that stayed on all the time to keep the ambient temperature in the tank within the correct temp range. You will have to watch your temps regularly, particularly around season changes. The smaller tanks are not as forgiving of environmental changes as larger tanks are, but I think they can be quite workable.

Congrats again!

Elizabeth
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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes (May he rest in peace)
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
Madison, Wisconsin