Reptile & Amphibian Forums

if i had my water in a heated room to 85F would i be able to just use a pig blanket heater as its main basking spot?just thinking for when its bigger.many thanks.dan

It wouldn't provide UVA/UVB is my main thought. Also, the temps might not get hot enough or might get too hot and burn them like some heat rocks do. Also, it might not be waterproof or the lizard could break the wire. I wouldn't use it. Too many bad things could happen. I'd stick with the tried and true methods.

As much as I strongly disagree with this idea and would prefer not to see you use it, I feel obligated to provide you with a successful example of a similar technique. The following is an excerpt from a care sheet for Argentine B&W tegus written by Bert Lengerwerf, the grandfather of the US captive bred tegus. It deals with how he maintains individual animals indoors. He has kept and bred these animals since 1989.

"The best way to light the enclosure is with a standard 4' fluorescent shop light. Electronic ballasts are better than magnetic ballasts for a number of reasons, the biggest being energy efficiency. Electronic ballasts use up to 30% less electricity than magnetic ballasts. They also run cooler and don't produce a 60Hz hum, which your tegu would likely find annoying. At least one of the bulbs should be a ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb (choose the other based on whatever lighting you think looks best). Tegus need UVB light to synthesize vitamin D-3 which they use to absorb calcium. Not getting enough UVB is a very good way to cause all sorts of health problems. Make sure to change the bulb every 6 months as the UVB production of fluorescents drops off too low after about 6 months. Also, get only the zoomed bulbs. There is very little quality control in the reptile product industry and as of the time of this writing, most other fluorescent bulbs do not produce enough UVB.

As for heating, the safest and most cost effective method is to get a T-Rex Cobra Heat Pad in the largest size (the one for a 60 gallon tank). It is important that the heat pad be larger than the animal laying on it to avoid burns due to heat build-up. As long as the pad is large enough for some portion of it to be exposed when the animal is laying on it, the cobra heat pads are very safe as they heat very evenly to 100 F (38 C). They are also very energy efficient. The largest model uses only 28 watts. Also, they are not a fire or burn hazard the way that light bulbs are. Place the bad on top of the substrate and underneath the UVB bulb so that the tegu gets its UV light while basking. (It is important not to cover the heating pad, so that it can dissipate its heat.)"

[url]http://www.agamainternational.com/pages/tegu_housing.htm[url]

To silence critics now, I know these are teiids and they are different from monitors and require different specs, but this is an example of large, active lizards being maintained using no more than a heat pad and UVB lighting.

Just a gripe from a novice monitor keeper. I browse and sometimes post on these forums in order to gain more knowledge to help me better care for my animals. What irritates me is when some one asks a question, logical or not, and the bulk of their answers are from people with little or no Monitor experience. People that dish out advice directly contradicting the advice of the experienced Monitor keepers, then argue with the experienced about their methods. Now we have many noobies, including the original poster, left to sort it all out and figure out what to do. So please, lets spend more time feeding the inexperienced minds and less time feeding our egos.

Jesse

Way to cut and paste Scizzle. Try that with a 7' water monitor and let me know how it goes.

I just re-read your post. I stand corrected and you're right. A 100F T-Rex heat pad for a 60 gallon tank with a Zoomed UVB bulb should work just great for a 30 LB lizard.

There's so much good information available. Please do some research before investing in these large animals. The mortality rates of these animals in unacceptable. Cut and paste internet experts really don't help the cause and confuse the novice keeper.

Reading forums can help but it takes time to decipher those who have experience from those who shouldn't be responding to questions. There's always good debate amongst keepers but there's a tremendous amount that can be learned from the likes of FR, Crocdoc, etc., etc. Ignore those who find an article that is 20 years old and use it to prove that they're correct.

for starters read my post correctly. i never stated that i was an expert,i said i had 16 yrs experience. the only reason i asked in the first place is ,as i explained, i know these pig blankets are used alot in the states but not here in the UK so just wanted opinions as im converting a garage and all i wondered was if the background temp was 85F and the pig blanket providied a site hot enough for the lizard to bask(id obviously also provide uv a/b) would that be an option instead of using a bank of spot lights. now i dont see what the problem is with asking that question? as it is what it is-a question. theres just simply no need for the attitude you seem to have.

Sorry for the attitude.

No, a pig blanket is not a good idea. Use rows of halogen flood lights (not spot lights) to obtain good basking temps of about 125 - 130F. You really do not need to bother with the UV lights.

I am not using the article to prove myself right. I was against it from the start. I was merely providing an example he could look into.

now thats all sorted i appreciate the answer.also your croc monitors look fantastic!!!