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I have a monitor enclosure that is 8' wide, 3' deep and 6' tall. It is inside of an insulated shed that is kept at a minimum of 70 degrees year round. I live in Southern California and nights have not gotten lower than 45 degrees, but the shed always stays at 70. The enclosure has 3 50W basking lights spaced 6 inches apart and 12 inches off of the surface, creating a basking temp of 120-130 throughout.

Problem is, right outside of the basking area, the temp drops to 75-80 when the cage temp is 70 degrees. This should be my hot zone with further temp gradients as you move away from the basking spot.

Please see my pictures at - http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e23/jharding08/Lizard Husbandry/

Right now the days get to a high of about 75 making the shed about 80 at most. This translates to a cold side of 75 in the cage. Should I just wait for it to get warmer, with the cold season a proper environmental change for the monitor in the wild? I am looking for 80-85 daytime

Hi Jeff
Have you ever thought about adding a space heater?
There are some real nice safe ones on the market, and at this time of year you can most likely get a good deal on one.
Mike
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Mike's Monitors!

Be Careful when using space heaters,I blew a fuse and lost all my animals

Greg
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1.1 Varanus Rudicollis
2.0.3 Varanus jobiesis
0.0.1 Ornate box turtle
0.1 Varanus Salvidorii
0.0.2 Varanus Salvator

I do have an oil space heater in the shed. I use reflectix insulation in the shed, so it makes the shed real heat efficient. I have the heater on medium with the thermostat set at 70. It does a real good job and is safer than open-coil models.

Question is - should I increase the ambient temperature in the shed to increase the gradients in the cage or just let it rise as the outside temperature rises.

During the day, the space heater isnt even on right now, since the temp outside of the shed reaches 70 by about 10 am. But the cage temps on the hot side dont reach the desired 85-90

Please check out the pictures, they show the heater and thermostat and the cage - http://s36.photobucket.com/albums/e23/jharding08/Lizard Husbandry/

Thank you for your help