Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How big of a area does the 130F surface temp have to cover? I use the temp gun and get temps of 132F directly under the light. From there it drops off conciderably 120F to 110F. Under the red night light I get surface temps up to 101F. Since its winter here I find them spending a great deal of time under the lights. Using a 50 wat bulb I figure the area of the 130+ temp range is about the size of a 50 cent piece.

He is around 3 feet long and growing.

This is a very very important question, particularly this time of year.

THe hot area, should be NO SMALLER then the SV lenght of the monitor, that is, head to butt. It should be larger. So they heat their body evenly.

Now, that does not have to all be the exact same temp. But it needs to be close.

What happens is the animals body temps become to low, This time of year) They can overheat and burn small areas, midback and midsides, while the rest of their body feels to cold.

THere are several options. One is to make sure your cages do not go below 60 or 70F. The other is to limit the hot spots to 110 or 120 F, something that cannot burn. Just for the winter where low temps can occur.

This is also why those home depot halogens with the center clear spot are bad. They have an extremely high center temps which causes burns.

So the answer is, larger then the Snout/vent lenght of the animal. Yet be aware of temps below 60F or so. Cheers

Is it possible to achieve the snout to vent temp range with two lights? I am talking about a single 3 foot lizard. I have not gotten any temps lower then 75F in the cage so that is a plus.

There is no limit with how many bulbs it takes.

I have some where I split a log and hang it from the ceiling. One has three lamps, another has four. That way, they bask under it, and climb on top of it.

You can hang a piece of plywood and achieve the same. Only your imagination will stop you.

When you have lots of cages like I do, wattage is a concern. We have found that several small lamps make more heat then one larger lamp. Like 3 45 watt bulbs make more usable heat then one 150w bulb. in fact, two 45W's are more then equal to one 150W and have a larger hot area.

So you can experiment if you want and see what works for you.

I usually just need one lamp for that one but in the winter I think I need at least two. Did you have a electrician hook a bunch of sockets up? Because myself I am running out of places to plug things in.

"Did you have a electrician hook a bunch of sockets up?"

LOL Frank is a plumber, an electrician, carpenter, metal worker, mechanic, an artist, a fiberglass worker. Did I mention he also has bred a reptile or two.... I know it sounds like a$$ kissing but he's the closests thing to a renaissance man that I've ever met.

"LOL Frank is a plumber, an electrician, carpenter, metal worker, mechanic, an artist, a fiberglass worker. Did I mention he also has bred a reptile or two.... I know it sounds like a$$ kissing but he's the closests thing to a renaissance man that I've ever met."

I remember in 9th grade shop class back in the day one student managed to convince his mother he was now a certified electrician and he ended up accidently setting the damn house on fire LOL.

Then he was not an electrician, was he.

I surely do not make my current living doing just that, but I did manage to build millions upon millions of dollars worth of zoo exhibits, waterfalls, with all manner of electrical requirements. I worked for and ended up owning my own exhibits company, and we were AZA accredited as well.

I also did all the wiring in my building, 400a service. Shop, 200a, outdoor cages, another 200a. and all inspected and passed upon first inspection.

Knock on wood, but nothing caught fire yet, fingers are crossed.

I think the point being made was, in my day, old, we did have to be well rounded, we built our own cages, we had too, we could not buy products, so we made them.

On the otherhand, I took mill and cab, and industrial occupations and biology. I also worked in all the fields including an auto mechanic. metal work, plastics, painting, cabinet, welding, and zoos for darn sakes.

I guess there IS an explination as to how I do what I do. Its just that no one has ever asked. Oh yea, and I lettered in wrestling in college. Which also explains my not backing down when challanged. Hmmmmmmmm if I would have only took an english class or two. And spelling. oh well

Now You're just bragging... LOL

unfortunatly you have more then a simple lightbulb problem...befor you go ahead and add new bulbs that will add to your problems you need to fix this...cold radiate thrue from all sides of a small enclosure, especialy glass...cover your cages bottom and sides with styrofoam or an other insulator...this will alow a much better use of energy...you may even have to downsize wattage?...in anycase its a better first step then adding new bulbs...the next best action is to set a controled room for these animals...iv seen plenty set ups with cages directly on the basement floor with no insulation but a properly heated room...animals in them failed from cold radiation eventualy.

Thanks Jobi its a wooden cage built on top of a water trough. I have plexiglass on top so I can look in. There is no screen or anywhere on the cage. So I guess I could insulate over the plexiglass?

where is your cage located? is it sitting on a cold floor? is the wall aronde it cold?

if your cage is not sumited to any radiant cold dont wory just add the bulbs you need.

No the cage is in the corner of the room and has no drafts near it. The floor is carpeted also. Unfortunate for my carpet.... good for my monitors. Helps keep drafts out.

I have painted the basking surface in addition to adding more lights. The paint usually increases the hot spot temp and holds temperature a lot better. The heat spreads through the paint layer more effeciently then plain wood so in turn it increases the width and length of hot spot and pushes the basking spot up few degrees higher.
Of coarse you paint the basking spot outside of the cage and allow to cure via instructions on paint.