Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey ya'll!! so I've got it all worked out..or so I think..just give me some opinions on what you think I might need to change:
1)I have a 4' shoplight bolted to the hinged wooden lid. with a reptisun 10.0 and a regular flouresent tube light(2 lights)
2)8.5" clamp lamp with a 100W light bulb. It is clamped securely to a back part of the wooden top. it sits about 8 inches above the basking rock. since this wouldn't be a "forever" home for my boy..we didn't want to cut up the wooden top (but would have if the enclosure was big enough for him to stay in).
temps are: 118 on basking side and 80 on cool side
3) the other clamp lamp that you see is for a 50W night glo bulb by exoterra..to add some heat at night.
4)ceramic tile as the substrate. we are using stone pavers that we had lying around for his basking and climbing spots but I'm still looking for a nice size limb to put in there once he gets settled..I took out the "mound" of rocks b/c I could just imagine crickets hiding in there and what a pain it would be to clean and put back together. and really didn't want to chance hurting my boy!
5)crickets will be here today and I have some mustard greens, romaine and some home grown veggies like squash..oh! and I have the calcium and herptivite.
6)I do have one question: where is a good place to put the probes from the thermometers and get a good reading? You can see the wires in the pic (I think). but they'll be all taped or out of the way somehow.
I also put a picture of my new boy in here...he's 2 months old and he'll be here Thursday from Carolina Designer Dragons.Isn't he sweet?!! Can't wait!! thanks in advance guys!!

Looks pretty good, though I suggest raising the primary basking lamp a bit...118F is a bit high and though you have the main brick at an angle, not sure how much difference there will be from the top of the brick and the bottom. But as is it should be ok. Your new dragon will show what temps he prefers to bask at.

Everything else looks good. Not sure if having the fake plants inside will be a problem or not. Some dragons will try and eat fake plants and if they are persistent at it, ingested plastic can be a cause of concern. Again, wait and see how your dragon reacts to it. It may completely ignore it.

For Probe placement I just leave them lying on the basking area like you have them, though with less slack. For the most part, even taping them down, they just get pulled off by the dragon eventually. Now I really don't leave the probes in the cage anymore, but I check regularly to make sure temps are still good. If my dragon is basking all the time, I check to make sure they are not too cool, if they are hiding all the time, then I check and make sure my temps are not too warm..things like that. It really depends on the room temperature of my place. If it goes up because its super hot outside or really muggy, then I make sure my tanks are not getting too hot. Same if its cool.

For a first time owner though or somebody pretty new, then having the probes in all the time and keeping an eye on the temperatures at various times of the day, works good. Leaving the probes loose will mean they get knocked off basking spots etc. but it isn't that much trouble to put them back in place. Even if secured on a basking area, your dragon is going to end up lying on top of it..and that of course will give the reading as much less than the basking temp really is (dragon's body blocks heat and light pretty good )

Overall, nothing really needs to be changed...just a few minor things to watch for once your dragon arrives.
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PHLdyPayne

I think 118 is a little high too. I'd try a 75 watt bulb and see if it will come down to about 110. 8" seems really close to me for a 100 watt bulb.

There is ventilation right?

I would not use the night heat option until your house temp. drops below 70 at night. This time of year a night light may make the enclosure too warm at night to properly slow his metabolism so he sleeps properly. In the winter I keep my enclosures at 70 at night but down to 65 is fine. This time of year my house is closer to 75 at night since I don't A/C lower.

You should really keep the new set up on for a 24 hour cycle to test it. If the ventilation isn't enough the whole enclosure will become the hot side and the stones will really heat up if the bulb is too much.

I just checked my temps again
hot side/basking rock:113
cool side:84
Maybe I looked at it wrong or something earlier

I've had the enclosure up for about a day and a half now,but
I started off with a 75W bulb and the temps I got were about 100-105 on the basking rock and about 72 ish on the cool side.I thought it was just a little too cool so I changed to the 100W about 12:00 today.
there are gaps between the glass and the wood top that slides onto it and a good two inch gap on the back.
I do keep my house really cold(like seriously 60)and I'm way down south(SC) were it is hot hot hot! but I'll check it tonight and see what I'm getting. we just got the night-light today..so we'll see what it does or if I even need it. thanks!

DUH!!I feel like an idiot now..I had the tank pushed up against the wall!!! so really NO ventilation..when I moved it the temps fell to 109 basking and 84 on the cool side. I'll check it all day tomorrow and see if that was the real reason..but I think it is..and you were right about the night-light..making it way too hot! oh well..at least it was pretty...LOL thanks guys!!

What kind of 100 watt bulb are you using? I'm a little concerned about the ambient (background) temp. on the hot side. As I remember that is a 4' long tank. Personally, I think 84 is a little warm for the cool side but it's fine if that's what it is.

If you put the probe out of the light on the hot side it should be about 90 - 95 for a baby or juvenile.

yes it is a 4' tank...I'm using a 100W household light bulb from Walmart(thier brand if that makes any difference)...Is it normal for temps to constantly change?? right now at this moment(10:43am) my temps are: 108.5 and 81.2. probe is placed in mid-block on both sides. moving probe out of light on hot side, I'm getting 93.7. I'm using a zoo med digital thermometer if that matters at all. I've removed the fake plants as well. thanks!

temperature fluctuations can be normal, especially if your room temperature changes during the day (ie if you have east or west facing windows, sunlight can heat a room fast through windows). Also, most thermometers take 15-30 minutes to measure temps in a new spot, so when moving them, give them about 15 minutes or so to adjust. Some are faster than others but most take some time to change to actual temperatures.

Ambient temperatures are a bit more tricker to measure, since you have to dangle the probe in mid air of the cage, outside of the basking light area to get ambient temps for warm end. Then you have to do the same for the cool end.
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PHLdyPayne

thank you for telling me that!! that helps a bunch!! right now i'ts almost 2pm..and my temps are 111.4 and 83.8....they haven't gone much above that so far today. I really think it was the fact that I had the tank up against the wall...b/c all day yesturday I was getting REALLY high temps..as you already know...lol but I've been checking non-stop today and making sure!

Pitch the houshold bulb in your setup. Household bulbs are only good for background temp. and not basking spot. You can buy a 75 watt Phillips spot from Home Depot that is the same as a Zoo Med 75 Watt spot. Then check the basking spot and if it's OK them the background should be fine. Household bulbs give off too much heat peripherally to work in a 12" glass tank. To get the basking spot temp right the ambient will be too high.

Make it easy on yourself. You have a long tank forget about the cool side. Just get the basking spot right, and the hot side ambient in the range and the cool side will be fine even if it's 72.

sounds good I'll get it ASAP...it'll be ok for at least a day..right? I'm getting the baby tomorrow!

In a big tank like that he'll have plenty of room to find someplace cooler if he feels it's too hot.

Observation is also a great way to decide if your temps. are right or not. If he spends a lot of time away from the basking spot or hot end then your temps. are too hot. If he never moves from the basking spot then the temps. are too cool.

Well I recieved an email from the breeder last night and she couldn't ship him b/c it was too hot..so she plans on shipping Monday when there is a break from the heat.better to get him late than DOA... so I guess I'll have plenty of time to "play" with the setup this weekend..but definitely getting the 75 W phillips and I'll let you know how it's going..so should I be shooting for 110 at the basking site?I don't want to sound like a moron and I don't want to keep "bugging" you guys...just trying to understand..thanks for your help!!

I'd shoot for 105-110 if you are getting a 4 or 5 week old dragon. I'm not really a believer in the above 110 thing. Others will say different but I find even hatchlings shy away from basking spots over 110.

so I went to my local hardware store(we don't have a home depot..lol) to get the Phillips bulb and just my luck they were out..so we ended up at a pet store and got the zoo med 75 W basking bulb. My temps are still in the 113 range. WE also moved the basking light and it is now about 12" away from the basking site...I'm putting a pic of it in here...I just took the pic maybe 5 min ago and I think I may need to change my basking site around a bit..maybe have it slant the other way now???

I like the slant towards the cool side so I'd leave it the way it is. I'd consider changing the 8.5" hood for the 5.5" one you had for night heat. This will decrease the direct basking spot size. It may increase the temp. of the center of the basking spot slightly but that's OK. You have a good size basking area and if it's 113 in the center of the light and say 105 out of the direct light that's great since then your dragon can choose if he wants 113 or down to 105. I'd just check the ambient on the hot side. Dangle the probe along the glass at about the basking spot height and see if it's 88 - 92ish. If it is that's great, if it's like 95 (which i doubt) then maybe go to a 50 watt bulb. But 50 watt seems too low in my guestimate.

Keep in mind that as your house temps. change so will the temps. in his enclosure. I think it's Zoo Med that sells a rheostat (dimmer) that you can plug your lamp into so you can adjust it as necessary when it gets cooler heading into the fall. I own a renovations company so I have installed dimmers into my walls to control basking temps. in my terrariums as the seasons change. My ambients are controlled by thermostats.

How big is the dragon you're getting?

I know he hatched out on June 18th...so he's about 8 weeks old and I'm guessing 7-9inches.