Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was wondering how your heat system is working and if your monitor has figured out where the heat is yet. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that it will get a workout today and tomorrow It's 42 at my house now and as I sure you know the second night of the front is always the coldest. They're calling for low to mid 30's up in my area I'm betting it will be about 35 or so here. I was just curious as to how good your system's working.

Thanks for inquiring man. It has been holding up VERY well!!! The minimum temp reading in the cooler side of the heat box (by the door) through all these cold nights (last night was 44*) was 69.9*. Keep in mind that temp is the absolute coolest it has reached in there, and that temp only stuck for maybe a couple minutes tops, until the t-stat called for more heat. I just checked the surface temp and its staying pretty consistent at 72* with an ambient of 75. Not too bad considering the dirt outside was 51*!!

The only real concern i have is keeping the humidity up. its friggin bone dry in there man. that hot air just dries out everything, it sucks. Even with the sprinkler idea, it just isnt enough, unless it turns on like every hour, lol.

She has no trouble at all knowing where to go when the temps drop. I have checked her every night so far. She knows right where to be, and when to be there, its truly amazing.

I know from the Iguanas that they know where to go but I was wondering if your monitor had got down the pattern. It's always interesting how they figure things out I've kept iguanas outside ever since I lived here (12yrs now) and know the behavior patterns they come up with and we all know monitors are way smarter than they are. I don't do my monitors outside yet but I am planning to have a few outdoor cages done this spring so I'm always interested in people who keep monitors outside in Fla. I do a lot of other reptiles outside (my Iguanas of course as well as chameleons, day geckoes,chelonians and others) so I have to think about a lot of the same things you do. Humidity is always one of those things that is really hard here in the winter in "humid" florida. I'll try and brainstorm a bit for you and let you know if I come up with anything. Right now what comes to mind is possibly using a soaker hose in the substrate instead of a sprinkler overhead (with respect to how yuor heater is set up of course.) you might be able to run it longer than you would a sprinkler and you can adjust the length of the hose to fit the enclosure. btw I woke up at 5a.m. and the outside temp here(Paisley) was 37f. Considering the temp is usually it's lowest right at sunrise I was probably just about right with the 35f prediction. Not as good as your temp I'm sure but definitely better than the 30f they had in Ocala which isn't to far from me.

wow man! These cold fronts are ridiculous!! Yeah everyone thinks Florida is the hot and humid all winter, think again! It beats Connecticut, where I originate. I'll have to get you some pictures. Oh one other problem i ran into... The thermal overload kicked out on me one night. Fortunately she made it through the night ok. My min temp read 55*!!!!!!
Too much hot air circulating through the heater kicked it out. You might think I'm crazy, but I cracked open the heater and did away with the overload. I then cut in a dryer vent, removed the damper, and installed it so the heater pulls in cool air from outside, preventing overheating. Working well so far. The heater runs so cool its hard to believe it actually blows heat!!